Parent Seminar Blog

Parent Seminar Blog

This summer, Base Camp welcomed parents and caregivers to For Parents: A Seminar, to glean wisdom from a professional counselor we had the honor of hosting. Brianna Edwards is an Orlando-based Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Registered Play Therapist (RPT), and TBRI Practitioner (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) specializing in children and teens (ages 3-18), trauma, and attachment and parenting.

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Disciples of Every Age
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Disciples of Every Age

Every week in Base Camp, kids and volunteers gather to connect with God and one another. It’s everything you’d expect to find in a high-energy children’s ministry environment. But what you see on a Sunday morning is just a snapshot of something much deeper and richer taking shape over time. Within Base Camp, a fabric of Christ-centered relationships is being woven each week across generational divides. Communities of volunteers, growing deeper in their own faith, walk alongside families through the ups and downs of life, serving kids who will move on to Surge and Edge and return to lead small groups of their own, guiding the ones who come after them.

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Parenting in Community
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Parenting in Community

This summer, Summit Base Camp had the privilege of hosting For Parents: A Seminar, alongside Summit Students at our Orlando and Lake Mary locations. We viewed Paul Tripp’s Parenting: It’s Not What You Think It Is, ate delicious food together, and enjoyed lots of quality conversations at our tables. There were lots of laughs, stories, realizations, and connections. It was a meaningful time for the folks who got to experience it in person, so we want to share some of the insights and wisdom!

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Playgrounds, Splash Pads, and Hikes -- Oh My!
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Playgrounds, Splash Pads, and Hikes -- Oh My!

At some point over the summer, you’ll likely be asking the question, “What should we do this week?”, and we’ve got you covered with some nearby outdoor fun!

We asked you (the experts!) on Instagram to share some of your favorite playgrounds, splash pads, and family hikes, and you came through in a big way.

We’ve compiled your ideas into a helpful map for you to pick and choose from for your next family outing (you could even make the choosing fun by blindfolding one of your kids and letting them choose, sort of like a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey).

We hope you enjoy getting out and exploring these different central Florida playgrounds, splash pads, and hikes this summer!

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Parent to Parent: Wisdom from the speaker series
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Parent to Parent: Wisdom from the speaker series

Parent to Parent:
Wisdom from the speaker series

As summer approaches, the school year comes to an end, and families prepare for more time spent together at home, how can parents find a healthy balance making time for themselves?


In the summers of 2019 and 2021, we had the privilege of sitting down with some folks we admire to ask them about their journeys in parenting. Following these interviews, we shared as much of the wisdom and goodness as possible through in-person gatherings called “Parent to Parent: A speaker series.”

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Parenting Through Seasons of Loss
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Parenting Through Seasons of Loss

Parenting Through Seasons of Loss

An interview with Joe and Keijo Bollinger

The past two years have been tumultuous for many families. Would you mind sharing a bit about what your family’s experience has been like?

JOE: For us, 2019 was new and exciting, our first year with no preschoolers—then the pandemic hit before the school year was over and we had all four of our children back at home for eighteen months. We don't have a house that allows for any extra space, so it was very disruptive.

KEIJO: Life has been so unpredictable, and I know it hasn’t been this way for everyone, but I can’t think of a single part of our lives that hasn’t been impacted. We’re constantly re-evaluating and trying to figure things out, and that hasn’t wrapped up for us yet. I’ve seen in me, and in others, that our capacity to handle stress has been squeezed.

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Connecting with God through Stories
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Connecting with God through Stories

When we read the Bible as a story with our emotions, imaginations, and senses engaged, we come away with so much more than just information! We are able to experience God in new ways. To help you get started, our children’s ministry team created a handy-dandy bookmark, with prompts your family can use to connect with any Bible story you read.

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Fun Over Time Creates Connection
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Fun Over Time Creates Connection

This season in BCL—the place where families grow together—we are explore the six things our families need; six seemingly small things that make a BIG difference over time… like FUN! Fun over time creates connection. To help your family connect more deeply with God and with each other, we designed a special BINGO game you can play together!

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Baptism: an Interview with Doris Herrero
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Baptism: an Interview with Doris Herrero

In addition to teaching our baptism class for kids, she and her husband, Javier, have walked through baptism as parents with each of their three kids. The wisdom that has come out of their experiences is so rich, and I’m so excited to share Doris’ insights about guiding kids through faith decisions with you!

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The Summer Bucket List
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The Summer Bucket List

If you’re anything like me, sometimes you look back and realize that you forgot (or more accurately, chose not) to dream—forgot (or chose not) to hope, seek joy, or even plan for moments of rest. But friends, dreaming is good. Even in the midst of strange, uncomfortable, and dark days, living with hope matters. I want to challenge you to consider one specific way to seek joy and plan for rest with your family this summer: I give you the SUMMER BUCKET LIST!

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Sibling Friendships: an Interview with O.J. and Rachael Aldrich
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Sibling Friendships: an Interview with O.J. and Rachael Aldrich

In the past year, my own kids have spent a significant amount of time squabbling over toys and snacks… And it’s made me wonder, what small things could we integrate into our daily lives that would yield a future friendship? I voiced this question to my Base Camp staff team, and the immediate response was: Talk to O.J. and Rachael Aldrich. So I did!

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Why I Love Lent
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Why I Love Lent

We all want to raise kids who know how to navigate the difficulties this life will inevitably bring—whose faith won't be broken by troubled times but strengthened. How do we teach that? Well, what if I told you a holiday season exists with this focus? It's called Lent, and it's a six-week invitation to practice turning to God in difficult circumstances.

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One Team: an Interview with Eddy & Giselle Moratin
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One Team: an Interview with Eddy & Giselle Moratin

"We all experience the craziness of life, and need a chance to stop and intentionally think about the coming year. This planning process helps you lay a firm foundation so you can be a more level-headed parent. We can make decisions about time, people, and money when we’re in a good, emotionally healthy place; not stressed out on a Tuesday night... This gives us a fighting chance."

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Creating a Family Mission Statement
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Creating a Family Mission Statement

Our Family Mission Statement Guide is back! As you work through the guide together, you'll have opportunities to reflect, take stock of your strengths, talk about your values, set goals, and dream about your family's future. It’s a simple process that can make a big difference for your year.

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A Year of Hope
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A Year of Hope

On January 12th, 2020 - after 70 months of praying and hoping and waiting to become a mother - I got the call that changed everything. “There’s a birth mother who has picked you and Jake. And she’s having a boy. And she’s in Texas. And she’s in labor right now.” Safe to say, 2020 got off to a real strong start for my husband, Jake, and me.

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Thanksgiving: an Interview with Elizabeth Cronlund
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Thanksgiving: an Interview with Elizabeth Cronlund

I believe that small changes in our homes, especially when our children are young, can open them up to a new way of thinking. We don’t have to do things the way we’ve always done them, and Thanksgiving can be more than a commercial holiday. It can be a meaningful celebration of community, interdependence, kindness, sharing, stewardship, cultural differences, and so much more.

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The Family I Imagined
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The Family I Imagined

When my husband and I were blessed with our sweet daughter, Isabel Bea, we were on our way to the family I had always envisioned. We planned to wait two years, maybe three, until we had our next child. But as we began trying to conceive again, it wasn’t as easy as the first time.

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True Sabbath Rest
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True Sabbath Rest

We’ve adapted and settled into new routines this year, but I’ve continued to struggle with finding rest. And, as a parent of young kids, I’ve felt the absence of in-person church services keenly. As I’ve watched Lauren and her husband, Mark, move through this season, deep in the preschool years just like us, I’ve grown more and more curious about their weekly Sabbath. What Lauren shared resonated so deeply with the ache I’ve been feeling in this year full of unknowns and exhaustion. And I can’t wait to share it with you...

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Made New
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Made New

When we had our first daughter, I expected that my new role as a parent would be hard and exhausting. But I was surprised at how deeply I struggled in that first year. I felt like the very fibers of me were unraveling, exposing every single imperfection. As much as I wanted to chalk it up to being only a few months postpartum, I knew it was more than that.

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