That Thing's Blog

2011 Final Schedule

Final 2011 Calendar, these are different from early tentative communications: June 19-23, June 26-30, July 3-8. Registration will open on Nov. 2 Election Day.

Week 3 Special Ticket Opportunity

The summer is rolling up quick and we want to make sure that every group that wants to go to That Thing can.  As week 1 has filled up and week 2 is almost full, we wanted to provide a little opportunity to help week 3 fill up as well.  

As we've gotten a chance to speak to different church leaders and volunteers, some churches are still trying to pull together the resources to get their students to camp. Some smaller churches are experiencing some difficulty in getting together multiple groups so that a lodge can be acquired.

In response, we're opening up Community Housing at Week 3. With this special opportunity, a leader can tell us how many student tickets they would like and we will pair groups together to fill up the cabins. Much like groups who purchase a lodge there is a financial incentive/group discount, but not nearly as great as for those groups who have taken the financial commitment to fill a lodge.

So, if you know any churches still looking to get in, details are at: http://gotothatthing.com/wk3-special.html

Lodge Payments

Just a quick FYI, some of you have sent checks to EFCC...please send your next payments to the Camp Registrar: Indiana Conference UMC, 301 Pennsylvania Pkwy; Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46280.

Also, as a thought.  Every credit card the camp processes will cost the camp 2.92% + $.25. Over the course of 3,000+ campers that equates to over $35,000 in fees.  One thing we're encouraging this year is asking people to pay by Check/eCheck if possible. The fee's for those are considerably less and can help keep the cost of camp lower in years to come if we can switch how we process income.

ExtraTix Widget

In case you aren't aware of the ExtraTix Widget, let me tell you what it is.

At gotothatthing.com, at the very top of the page (in between the facebook badge and the contact us badge) is a little purple button that says Tix.  When clicked, it will open a window that will help you connect with churches and people looking for tickets to That Thing.

You can use this as a means to sell tickets you have or if you are looking for something specific to buy.

As always, let us know if there is anything we can do to help out with helping you get your cabins filled up.

iTix in the Mail

Your iTix for 2010 are in the mail.  Be sure to keep those in a safe place.  This isn't a hand-out/recruitment tool, it is the actual ticket that needs to be turned in at Epworth this summer.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to post a comment as your questions may be the questions of others as well.

On a side note, through one of you, I ran across a series on Craig Groeschel's blog...I've not been a regular reader of his, but he's doing a round of posts regarding denominational ministry and specifically the UMC. If you aren't following it, you might be interested in some of his and the commenters perspectives.

Here to Serve...

Please, please, please.  Don't turn students away because your lodge is full.  We had a great opportunity this week when a youth worker contacted us to let us know that they were already facing lodging capacity issues...what is there to do? Together, we were able to put solutions on the table.

So, if we know the issues you're facing, we will do everything we can to help come up with answers that you will hopefully like.  

We are here to serve you. 574.834.2212.

The only other thing I can say is this.  If we don't know your issue, there is nothing we can do to help. And, quite frankly, that makes us very sad...near tears. Maybe not, but we like helping.  

[small groups] at That Thing

One of the big feedbacks from 2009 was about Small Groups. Your group has 3 options

• Join That Thing's intercampus [small groups] and send your students out into groups with students from other churches.
• Build your own [small groups] out of your students and your leaders and keep your students building into and focusing on the relationships they are returning home to.
• Clean your kitchens, swim, nap...seriously, no one will hold it against you if you don't plug your students into a small group. You know what your students need to get out of their time at That Thing and we know that you have a plan to make that happen, if this isn't part of it, don't fret.

[small groups} and evening devotion curriculum are being written and will be distributed to leaders well before That Thing so group leaders doing their own groups can choose to use the curriculum, modify, supplement, etc.

We want to be really clear...

• These are not required small groups
• That Thing Staff will not be policing attendance
• The groups will be split by underclassmen (9-10), upperclassmen (11-12), and graduating seniors
• Group size and availability is completely based upon the number of volunteer leaders
• Registration is made for an entire group and:
• is available first-come, first served beginning March 1, 2010
• only leaders who made the purchase of a lodge or day tickets can submit requests/info
• can only be made after you have made your ticket purchase

Read the rest of the important information at http://gotothatthing.com/small_groups.html

2011 Calendar, We Need Your Feedback

We're looking ahead to 2011 and wanting to make sure that we can have the best in opportunities for you and your students. As I ask this I also need to attach a disclaimer, "This isn't a planning committee. We will take all feedback to the table and weigh it all equally. No one person or church will more sway in any decision as we're looking for the greatest good for the largest majority. Your feedback will help us understand limitations at large." Our goal here is to get the most kids to camp as we possibly can.

To provide your feedback, you can either comment here or you can send me an email.

Feedback Point 1

• That Thing in June • Would an early June week of That Thing be beneficial such as the weeks of the 12th or 19th of June? Do your schools run that far into June? Is this before most sports, band and 4-H activities get into high gear? 

Feedback Point 2

• Your Ideal Week • We have come to the understanding that late July is one of the most inconvenient times for high school camp.  Is this correct? What is your ideal time frame to gather the most students?

Feedback Point 3

• Indiana High School Moratorium Week • Is this an important criteria in your planning? How pivotal is it and for what number of your students?

Feedback Point 4

• Staggered Start Dates • One option we're considering is an non-uniform calendar where week 1 may start on Sun.(pm) out by Fri.(am), week 2 may start Fri.(pm) out by Wed.(am) and so forth. How would this impact your work schedules and student schedules? What pro's and con's do you encounter?

Looking For Your iTix?

I just got an email asking about the iTix and when your tickets would be arriving in the mail.    

We'll be mailing your packets out a little later in February that will include all of your iTix for your students and adults.  You'll want to keep these close as these tickets are just like tickets to a concert.  Each one is labeled with a transaction number and you won't want to lose them.  

This information and more will be coming in a Newsletter that should be mailing by the end of the week.

Register Your Group in January

Register your group with either a lodge purchase or a block of Day Tickets and get entered to win a Rock Band 2 kit for the Wii.

It’s simple really. If you sign up for group tickets starting Friday, January 1, 2010 (12:01am) through Thursday, January 7, 2010 (11:59pm), we’ll put your churches name in for a drawing to win the Rock Band 2 Kit. The winner will be announced on Friday January 8, 2010 at 12:00pm (lunch time).

So, those of you waiting  on your budgets to recycle…the new year is almost here. Don’t forget to put on your schedule to get signed up!