Stepping In, Sticking With It

Camp is just getting started.

Trunks are stashed under bunks, hiking boots and favorite books tucked nearby. Shelves are full of bug spray, stuffed animals, and handwritten notes from home. Across the lake and up the gravel paths, boys are starting to settle in: learning the way to Morning Watch, remembering which way to turn for soccer vs. swimming, and starting to greet each other by name instead of just “hey, you.”

Each week at Falling Creek, we focus on a core value—something that quietly shapes how we live and grow together here on the mountain. This week’s focus: Perseverance.

As Paul writes in Hebrews 12:1,
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Camp gives boys a glimpse of what that race looks like—not always easy, but worth every step. Here, they build the habits of heart and character that remind them: perseverance isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up again and again.

Perseverance isn’t flashy.

It doesn’t always mean making it to the top or being the fastest or strongest. More often, it looks like quiet, steady effort—like a boy retying the same knot after it slips loose. A camper dusting off his hands and trying again after falling halfway up the climbing wall. Someone sweeping the cabin floor—not perfectly, but better than yesterday.

These are the moments where grit grows.

In her TED Talk on Grit, researcher Angela Lee Duckworth describes grit as “living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” She notes that we still don’t fully know how to cultivate gritty kids—except this: give them a space where it’s okay to fail, where trying again is normal, and where a growth mindset gets built one step at a time.

Falling Creek is that space.

Here, boys get to try. Whether it’s lighting a fire, climbing a wall, or speaking up in a group, each step matters. It’s okay to stumble. It’s even expected. What matters is that they show up again tomorrow and give it another shot.

“The beginning is the most important part of anything you try,” said Cara, assistant sailing director. “All the vocabulary and directions can feel like a lot—but it’ll click if they keep showing up.”

At paddling, Max was in the water teaching campers how to roll their kayaks—a required skill for whitewater trips. Campers flipped upside down, banged on the hull, and worked their hips to roll back over. Max gave clear instructions, encouragement, and five solid tries before giving each camper a breather.

“I panicked—sorry Max!” said one camper. Max responded, “While you’re underwater, find calm. Focus on what you need to do to roll over.”

He even placed a sponge on the camper’s shoulder.

“Don’t drop it,” he said. “Keep your head steady. Let your hips and hands do the work.”

The next time through, the camper succeeded.

That camper was his younger brother, James.

“I’ve never rolled a kayak before,” James said. “Kayaking is really Max’s thing. But now I want to be down here with him and just get better. If I hadn’t rolled it today, I would’ve kept trying.”

Across camp, perseverance looks different for every boy. But it’s already showing up—in small choices, quiet effort, and the courage to keep moving forward.

Watching your son step into something new without you by his side might stir memories of your own: the first job, a hard class, the early risks that shaped who you are. Camp works in much the same way.