Counselor Information

Please click here to download the 2012 Camp Briarwood Counselor Application.

Bring your application to the Quest/Camp Briarwood Office, Briarwood Church G-100, or mail it to:

     Camp Briarwood
     Attn: Counselor Applications
     2200 Briarwood Way
     Birmingham, AL 35243

Please contact our office with any questions: 205-776-5237

Day Camp

Day Camp will be held again at YMCA Camp Hargis in Chelsea, AL. Each morning, counselors report to Briarwood Presbyterian Church for morning worship and to meet their campers. Day Camp Counselors return to Briarwood each afternoon, except for Thursday nights during Sessions 1 - 3. Counselors will spend Thursday nights at Hargis with their campers.

Counselor positions are open to those 15 years and older. Each year, all counselors are required to complete an application and interview process. Employees who are 15 years old must submit a completed and signed Eligibility to Work certificate which they can obtain from their school or school board.

Overnight Camp

Overnight Camp will be held at the YMCA Camp Chandler, located outside of Wetumpka, AL on Lake Jordan. Most Counselors report to Camp Chandler on Sunday afternoons, except for Jr. High, Angel Tree and Discovery Club camps. Counselors leave on Saturday afternoon. A few counselors report to Briarwood Church on Monday mornings to check in the campers and load them on buses.

Applicants for the position of Overnight Camp Counselor must be 15 years or older. All counselors will be required to complete an application and interview process. Employees who are 15 years old must submit a completed and signed Eligibility to Work certificate which they can obtain from their school or school board. We give preference to applicants who are able to work all Overnight Camp sessions.

Special Connections Camp

Special Connections Camp is for boys and girls with disabilities of all types, including wheelchair users. Each child has his/her own counselor, and they are placed in a camp group. This allows them to experience everything that a typical camper experiences.

Applicants for the position of Special Connections Camp Counselor must be 15 years or older. All counselors will be required to complete an application and interview process. Employees who are 15 years old must submit a completed and signed Eligibility to Word certificate which they can obtain from their school or school board.

**All counselor applicants must have made a personal profession of faith, be active in your church, and be willing to share their faith.

Counselor Quotes:

"Some of my co-counselors and I have come to an agreement that Heaven will one day be like camp! There is something about pouring out into the lives of kids that leaves you with a renewed longing to be more like the Lord and to give even more of yourself away. I could never ask for a better job or find any better, life-long friends!"

Camille Beasley

Overnight Camp Counselor

"I love working at Camp Briarwood because of the kids. Not only do I get to impact their lives by telling them and showing them the love of Christ, but they change me with their joy, honesty and innoncence."

Will Dunham

Day Camp Counselor

“YOU CAN CALL ME BROTHER NOW”

By Jeff Young

For many years now I have been very blessed to be able to serve with a great many wonderful, unselfish, and compassionate people with some great ministries of Briarwood Presbyterian Church. Two of these ministries readily come to mind because they are engraved on my heart: Briarwood Christian School, where I have served on staff since 1975 and Camp Briarwood, where I first began to serve in 1977.

Camp Briarwood is a Christian summer camp for young boys and girls. Some of our Camp goals are to help children have the time of their lives enjoying fun and useful outdoor activities while learning wonderful truths from God’s Word in a beautiful outdoor setting with a committed and loving Camp Team. Many of our campers come to us each year from un-churched, non-Christian, or nominal-Christian families, and/or from sadly broken homes. For us all it is a great opportunity to build good relationships, to exercise our spiritual gifts, and to effectively use our experience and training in evangelism with these children in a loving and protective way. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, tells us in His Word that He was moved with compassion when He saw the multitudes for they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. He further commanded His disciples at that point to pray and to beseech the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into His harvest field “for the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”

One story springs readily to my mind illustrating one of the ways that the Lord of the Harvest answered our prayers. Years ago, I had a young fellow in my Camp Briarwood group named John (not his real name). He was a precious child who had experienced much pain in his short life. One day we were hiking in a single file line we like to call a “Counselor Sandwich” on a trail through the woods by a beautiful lake going from one activity site to another. As we traveled along on the camp trail we met another camp group coming toward us going the way we had just left. John was holding my hand at the head of our line. As our groups met and passed by each other going in opposite directions I would always speak to each oncoming child with the words “Hey brother! Hey sister! Good to see you today! Are you having a great day?” John looked up at me and he asked me the following question: “Why do you always call everyone Brother or Sister? They’re NOT your brother or your sister!” I gently answered my little friend in a soft tone of voice: “If they have Jesus in their heart then they are my brother or my sister in the Lord.” John then looked down and slipped his hand out of mine as he said to me “I guess you can’t call ME brother then.” He walked sadly back to the end of our line as we continued the walk toward our scheduled activity. After lunch each day we always have “Share Time” in very small groups where our counselors teach their campers a Biblical truth or a Bible story. Then right after that we transition to “Worship Time” where we sing Christian praise songs and hear a wonderful personal testimony or a story with the Gospel message usually ending with an opportunity to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer for Salvation.” Many of our young people have trusted Jesus as their Savior during one of our Share Times or Worship Times over the years! After Worship Time ended that particular day I was leading my group on a hike toward one of our afternoon activities. As we moved along the trail my little friend John caught up to me at the head of the line and put his hand into mine. As he looked up into my eyes he smiled radiantly and said “You can call ME Brother now!”

NEW! Reconnect with past attendees, camp counselors and more! Join the Camp Briarwood Re-Connect Facebook group and feel free to invite others that may also be interested by clicking here.