I was having lunch with a friend last week, and we were both relating over how God uses Camp to bring people into our lives who better us. She said, “There is something just different about Camp friendships.” I couldn’t agree more. As summer is up to bat, I find myself wanting every Coach to make friendships that God uses to show more of Himself. I find myself wanting every Coach to find a friend like Grace.

I first met Grace during a puzzle-like game that put us in our covenant groups during training week in 2019. We didn’t know each other before, though we had many mutual connections through Texas A&M (WHOOP!). It didn’t take long for us to laugh hard together, which is one of my favorite parts about our friendship to this day.

Grace served the first half of summer but returned for an extra week to be a Coach with me in our dearly beloved Southbay at Camp Travis. We have countless stories from that one week when I got to see her firsthand love campers that needed a listening ear and compassionate heart. We also laughed a lot (a recurring theme with us). The next summer, I was honored to step onto the Travis Leadership Team where Grace was in the covenant group I got to walk with. Lots of stories from that summer involved masks, and distance yet still, lots of laughing together. In 2022, God placed both of us back at Camp Travis on the Leadership Team, and we got to serve alongside one another once again. We joked that we have been co-cov members, co-Coaches, my cov girl and co-workers.

Grace is now in graduate school studying Speech Pathology at UT Dallas, while I have gotten to jump on full-time here at T Bar M. Though our time on summer staff has come to an end…for now (who knows what God will do), Grace has continued to be steady friend, and someone who reminds me of Jesus. There really is something different about a Camp friendship.

So ... let's link arms with this summer's coaches!!

As these groups gather this summer, let's send them encouragement, prayers, and a bit of fun from those that have served as they will.

We have 68 covenant groups serving between at Base Camp, Camp Travis, Family Camp, Discover, and Day Camp. Isn't that amazing!

It's as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Simply email alumni@tbarm.org and we will send you the information you will need. Covenant Group Leader and Coaches names as well as the Camp terms and the Camp addresses. (We'll even send a list of ideas to make it even easier 😉
2. You will send them one care package in June and one in July, as well as encouragement notes or emails throughout the summer.
3. Then ... we will all watch God use these coaches do MIGHTY things this summer at the place we love.

Email Abby & Kelli at alumni@tbarm.org if you would like to Adopt-A-Cov!

Covenant Groups are an intentional foundation of the discipleship of T Bar M, fashioned after the covenant that David and Jonathan made in 1 Samuel 18:1-5 and still a foundational part of the DNA of Coaches’ summer experiences.