Youth Summer Ministry
Registration for 2025 is Now Open
Youth Summer Ministry is a 7-day program offered in June and July that brings together groups from across the country into our small pocket of rural Appalachia. YSM pairs service and worship, mission and theology in a way that inspires the flourishing off all people involved. Participants can offer their skills to either minor home repair or day camp program. Participants must have finished 6th grade to serve at Mountain T.O.P.
Spiritual Life Philosophy
We desire to expose our participants to a variety of worship styles because we value the beauty of connecting with the Lord in different ways. Built into our daily schedule are four times to worship, either individually, in a small group, or as a whole community. Each day starts with an individual devotional time with material provided, during the day a staff member will lead a small group discussion on-site with the Youth Renewal Group (YRG), and each evening ends with a time of sharing and a time of corporate worship. Churches will also an opportunity to meet together for a time of discussion and reflection once a week during free time.
Service Project
The scope of our service projects includes construction, painting, and yard work. However, doing home repair is about more than building a porch or clearing a yard. It’s about the accessibility that is gained when a family now has a safe way to enter and exit their home. It’s about how that entryway will serve as a much more significant entryway into a healthier, more sustainable, and more socially connected lifestyle. It’s about providing youth the opportunity to learn about power tools and the power of social connection. We know that so many of the aspects of our personal health can be traced back to the health of our homes. From social connection, mental health, or physical accessibility, the quality of our homes has a significant impact on our lives.
Day Camp
Building resilience, exploring community, reading, growing in healthy lives, playing, learning about Jesus—this sums up a week of Day Camp. Five days of Day Camp broadens horizons, brightens futures, and builds hope in youth ages 6-11 from Grundy County.
Day Camp is intentional about pairing Youth Summer Ministry participants with the Day Camp children, giving the YSM participants the opportunity to grow in their leadership and mentorship skills, and making sure our younger children have individualized attention. For this reason, we require that YSM participants to be rising 9th graders or older.
Community Formation
Participants in either Day Camp or Service Project spend the camp week in Youth Renewal Groups (YRGs), which are essentially their "work groups." Youth Renewal Groups are created on Sunday of the camp week by placing members from all different churches together. YRGs provide a place where different geographic and faith backgrounds are represented. These groups are a place where individuals can be fully themselves, without maintaining the weight of any established social expectations that may be present with their original group. Days out on the work site or with Day Camp children are spent in these groups, but the entire camp community comes together each evening for dinner, worship, activities, and free time. Mixing up with other churches affords youth the opportunity to encounter new people and challenges throughout the week; this is often cited as one of the most meaningful parts of "the Mountain T.O.P. experience."
If your group absolutely would not like to split up, please let Jacey know! We are able to make accommodations for some groups to stay with one another if necessary due to church policy, etc.
Have questions? We would love to answer them! Feel free to fill out the form below or reach us at rachael@mountain-top.org or at 931.692.3999.
Connect
Registration Information
Dates
SUMMER 2025:
Week 1: June 15 - 21
Week 2: June 22- 28
Week 3: June 29 - July 5
Week 4: July 6 - 12
Week 5: July 13 - 19
Week 6: July 20 - 26
Prices
PARTICIPANT FEES:
New Church: $400 per person
Returning Church: $420 per person
Week 3 is our discounted week: $340 per person
DISCOUNTS:
Haven’t been to Mountain T.O.P. in a while? Talk to us during registration about your pricing!
All churches, regardless of payment method, receive a discount for one free Contact Person. Churches may also have one Clergy Person attend for free.
Registration Information
As you begin planning a trip to Youth Summer Missions, we highly encourage to utilize our 2025 Registration Guide before registering.
Once a registration is received, the Contact Person will be invoiced for the deposit amount.
We highly suggest collecting these deposits from participants in advance to encourage financial investment in the trip and avoid drops later in the year.
We encourage groups to register conservatively, then add more participants as they confirm them and as space allows.
The financial guidelines have been developed in order to operate responsibly and make decisions as far as staffing, open facilities, food purchasing, etc., in a timely manner. This fee includes all meals, lodging, project materials, programming, and camp staffing.
Watch the video below as Jacey takes you through our registration process!
Resources
As you plan your trip, there are a few vital resources for you:
Registration Guide
Read the 2025 Registration Guide!
Contact Person Resource Guide
Read the 2025 Contact Person Resource Guide! While this is not every single piece of information needed for planning a trip, it should cover a large portion of getting started. Please reach out to Jacey with any questions upon registration!
Team Training Materials
Training your team for the Mountain T.O.P. experience is absolutely crucial. We honor those we are serving when we choose to invest in learning who they are, what their context is, and what assets they bring to the table. Promoting the dignity of all people is of utmost importance to us. Our training materials are being updated for our 2025 participants and will be released later in the year in order to give teams enough time to plan out their sessions. We recommend having training in the Spring.
Camp Assignments
Your camp assignments and directors will be announced further into the spring when we have the majority of the registrations and can begin assigning to our different camp locations. Day Camp is only offered at our Cumberland Pines camp location, so if you have Day Camp participants you will not be able to be at Baker Mountain.
Week at a Glance
Here is a general overview of what a camp week looks like! Most of the times listed next to the activities are subject to change, so it is always best to ask or rely on what your Summer Staff is directing the camp community to do. However, this might help when packing, planning, or just to help you wrap your head around what all we do in the summer!
Paperwork & Forms
Here you can find all forms and paperwork that you and your participants will need for a week of Youth Summer Ministry. View and download each form by clicking the icons below. Reach out to Jacey with any questions!
All participants will need to bring two copies of the Statement of Activities & Release to camp. These will be turned in during registration on Sunday of your camp week. Don’t forget to have these notarized for youth 17 and under!
All participants will need to bring two copies of the Medical Information form to camp. These will be turned in during registration on Sunday of your camp week.
All adults 18+ must submit an Adult Self-Screening form at the time of the group’s final payment, May 15. This form verifies that all adults have current background checks, or indicates that someone needs a new check run by MTOP.
All groups are required to send in a roster of their participants with final payments, due May 15. Contact Persons should download the blank file, fill out the information, save the file as “2025 Roster Church Name - City, State,” and email the completed roster to Jacey.
This is also where you can indicate any dietary needs, allergies, and “special circumstances” in your group, such as a youth who needs to stay with a particular adult or other youth in a YRG, any accessibility needs, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does registration open?
Registration for 2025 opens on September 18, 2024. Please read the 2025 Registration Guide prior to signing up your group.
What are the age requirements?
Participants must have finished 6th grade in order to participate in Service Project. For Day Camp, participants must have finished the 8th grade. Anyone older than that may serve with us!
What is the necessary adult : youth ratio?
There must be TWO adults for every FIVE youth. Both adults must be 21+. We consider a youth to be 17 or younger. This new adult:youth ratio is due to our implementation of Safe Sanctuary guidelines for all camp weeks. Participants who are between 18-20 do NOT count toward your Safe Sanctuary adult requirement.
What is the payment schedule?
Your schedule and amount due at each deadline is now dependent on your participant fee and when you register. Please contact Jacey with any payment questions.
Where am I going?
Find your camp assignment and Director’s name here in the spring! Camp locations are assigned based on each week’s participant numbers and staffing. You can find directions to Camp Cumberland Pines here and directions to Camp Baker Mountain here.
What are the vehicle requirements?
Service Project:
If participating in Service Project, you must provide one of the two options:
One 7-passenger vehicle for every seven participants, or
Two 5-passenger vehicles for every seven participants.
This allows about seven team members, tools/materials, and a cooler for lunch to be transported to and from the work site.
If you bring two vehicles, you must provide two drivers. Those vehicles must always stay together.
You will have to transport ladders, quikrete, etc., so vehicles with roof racks are recommended.
Day Camp:
If participating in Field Trip Day Camp, you must provide one of the two options:
One 12- or 15-passenger vehicle for every seven participants.
Two 7-passenger vehicles for every seven participants.
This allows about seven team members to pick up 5-7 children from the community every day for camp.
If you bring two vehicles, you must provide two drivers. Those vehicles must stay together the entire duration of your van routes (picking up, dropping off, etc.)
Each group must provide first aid kits, and the necessary Service Project tools or Day Camp materials, as listed in the Contact Person Resource Guide.
How are meals served? Can you accommodate dietary needs?
Breakfast and dinner are hot meals provided in our Dining Hall, served family style. A cooler lunch will be prepared for you to bring to the work site and to share with the family you are working with. All meals from Sunday dinner to Saturday breakfast are provided. Our kitchen staff can accommodate dietary needs and allergies. Please contact Jacey (jacey@mountain-top.org) with further questions regarding meals.
Can I pre-order t-shirts?
Yes! Groups can pre-order this year’s theme t-shirts back here in the Spring. Our t-shirts are available in adult sizes X-Small through 4X-Large. Please note that sizes XS-XL are $18/shirt, and sizes 2XL-4XL are $20/shirt. Jacey will add the cost of these t-shirts to your final payment invoice. Shirts and other MTOP attire will be available for purchase at camp as well.