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Mission TripsFAQs for Youth Leaders
What ages can come serve?We accept Junior High, Senior High, College and Adult groups, depending on the difficulty and commitment level necessary for each experience. Mystery Trips work best for groups in High School and above, but we leave it to the discretion of the youth leader if they will be bringing any Jr. High group members. How big (small) can the group be?The minimum size for a group is 12 paid participants (leaders and youth); we have no maximum size. This is an opportunity for your group to grow together, work together and depend on each other. Where will we stay?Your experience will be based out of state parks, wilderness areas, and public and private campgrounds in Kentucky and Tennessee. It can be frustrating as you make travel plans and attempt to budget for transportation without knowing the specific location of your stay. There are a number of factors to be weighed before determining a location for your group, including worksite suitability and availability, size of your group and matching facilities, the goals of your group, and proximity of wilderness activities. For this reason, directions and the exact location of your group will be sent to the group at least two weeks before your trip. What does the per-person fee include?The fee for the week includes all regularly scheduled meals, camping equipment, and lodging from the time the group arrives until the time when they leave. The preparation materials, qualified staff, T-shirt and detailed planning and set-up for the week are also included. Some outdoor adventure equipment is included (hiking, rappelling, climbing, and caving gear). We also provide primary medical accident insurance up to $3,000 on each camper. We do not cover the costs of transportation for your group or the cost of (optional) White Water Rafting. How will we prepare for the experience?Once registered, all groups will receive access to our Group Preparation Manual that is jammed with helpful information and specific program details. It contains outlined sessions to cover as a group which will help prepare everyone for their CP adventure. These sessions clarify expectations and goals, and help to build up your group's excitement for their upcoming experience. You will have full access to the manual here at our website. Will everyone need to fill out medical & release forms?All Participants (including adults) will be required to complete a medical history form as well as a liability release form. What if we bring someone whom has not filled out his/her Participant Information and Liability Release form?This form is mandatory. It needs to be filled out properly with the appropriate signatures and handed over to your CP staff upon your arrival. No group member (including all adults) will be allowed to participate in any CP activity without the form correctly filled out and signed (including the parents' signatures). It is imperative all of the information is completed accurately for medical and insurance purposes. If a youth arrives and the correct form is not with him/her, CP will need to make phone calls to the parents, youth leaders will need to sign as witnesses to the calls, etc. It is a pretty big hassle. Just make sure that you bring the correct forms. What is your policy about medication for youth?All participants must fill out a Participant Information and Liability Release form that specifies their medications and the procedures for using them so that our staff is aware of the medication. A medical doctor will need to give the OK by signing the form for someone on medication to participate in a CP experience. The medication will be kept by the youth and self-administered. If this is not possible, a Youth Leader must set up a system to oversee (or administer) the medication. Our staff will not administer any prescription medication. CP staff members may administer non-prescription medicines such as non-aspirin, antacid, and antihistamine for first aid purposes only. What if someone gets hurt? Is there any insurance?In the unlikely event that someone has an injury while on the CP experience, all medical expenses (up to $3000) associated with that injury are covered by a primary accident insurance policy. The campers own personal insurance will kick in after the $3000 limit has been reached. There is also a $1000 policy for sudden illness (if it is not pre-existent). How far away is the nearest hospital?Group experiences operate out of parks or serve in rural communities. There are hospitals in all the counties in which we serve. There is also a functional emergency medical response system set up in all of the counties we serve. Also servicing the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky areas are a life flight helicopter system (for extreme emergencies). There are major hospitals that the life flight system works with in Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. UK's Chandler Medical Center provides emergency trauma service to the Central Kentucky area. How safe are these experiences?We regularly go through a review and examination of all of our safety policies and procedures to ensure that we are functioning as safely as possible. We have voluntarily decided to become members with and abide by the American Camping Association safety standards. That said, the activities that we do are never risk free. Camping, outdoor activities, home repair projects, and life in general all have many dangerous aspects. We work to minimize the real dangers, but it is impossible to remove all of the risks. We have a very high safety record for the 25 years that we have been doing outdoor adventure activities. Do we need to bring a cell phone?Yes, all groups should have at least one cell phone for emergencies. This phone number will be at our office and with your contacts at the church in case of any emergency. In Home Repair each worksite should have access to a cell phone for emergencies (many of the houses we work on have no phones). What does American Camping Association certification mean?The American Camping Association is the premier watchdog organization for camps. We became a member in 1987 and are monitored by ACA to make sure that we are holding to their high safety standards. What do I do if the number of my group participants changes?Please notify the director of your program with your number changes. All significant number changes must be made by May 1st. After May 1st, you will be financially responsible for group numbers dropping below 20% of your stated number of participants at May 1st. If your numbers change after that date, please notify the director of your program as soon as possible. How many adult leaders do I have to bring?There should be a 1 to 7 leader/student ratio for each group. A leader is expected to be at least 18 years of age. If there is even one student of one sex in your group, there must be an accompanying leader of that same sex. In our group preparation manual, there's a session which will prepare the leaders for the experience, and brief them on what to expect. Will Confrontation Point staff be with us all week?Yes, at least 2 Confrontation Point staff stay with your group for the entire week. They oversee the week's experience, organize logistical details, and assist you in meeting your group's goals and objectives. What qualifications/certifications do the Confrontation Point staff have?All Confrontation Point staff are Christians who love the Lord. All of them are over 18 and have been certified in First Aid and CPR. They have been trained, prepared and tested at our Pre-summer staff training. Most of them are college students who are spending their summer serving the groups and the clients. Once we arrive, how does transportation take place?Your group is responsible for all transportation and transportation costs during the week. Most groups use 15 passenger vans or mini-vans. Buses are not recommended as many aspects of your trip involve very rural routes beyond the capability of a bus. Some groups will ride to the campground in a bus and then rent vans during their stay. Please call us for contact numbers if you need vehicle rental information. There are national chains in Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Lexington (depending upon which direction you are coming from). What time zone are you in?Our main office in Wilmore, Kentucky is located in the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone. Since we base our experiences out of parks all over Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, we run the scheduling for each trip based on the local time of each group's base camp. For simplicity sake, we ask all groups to arrive at their camping location after 6pm (EST) on Sunday evening. Upon arrival, our staff will inform you of the local time and set the schedule accordingly. What fun things are there to do in the area?While you are participating in your CP experience, you will find very little extra time to sightsee. However, many youth leaders seek extra activities prior to and after their experience. Tennessee and Kentucky have a variety of opportunities. For more information, check out www.tnvacation.com, www.kentuckytourism.com or contact your program director. Can parents contact their child during the week?True emergencies should be the only contact that parents have with their child. Each group should have a cell phone that is reserved for emergency contact. If that is unavailable, you can call the CP office (800) 884-8483 and we will see if we can contact the ranger at the park where the group is staying. Should parents send a care package to their child?No. If they are determined to send one, an alternative way of doing it may be to give the care package to the youth leader before the trip and have them hand it out on Wednesday. We are sorry for the inconvenience, but logistically we are not set up to handle deliveries to state parks (which are up to 2 1/2 hours away from our office). How does the food work?We try to provide your group with healthy food for the whole week. High sugar foods, high fat foods and other so-called "junk foods" are avoided as much as possible. We challenge each group to try to avoid the junk food for a full week (it is much harder than you think!). The food as a whole is tasty, nutritious, and will be devoured by all! The group members will be preparing and serving these meals. For more information, check out the paragraph on food located in section 3 of the Group Preparation Manual. Can we bring snacks?We discourage groups from bringing extra snacks as it distracts from meals and can be unhealthy. Participants should not keep food of any kind in their tents. We have had problems with critters ruining tents to get to food stashes. Occasionally participants with special medical concerns will need to bring along special food or snacks for their condition. We recommend that their snacks be kept in a cooler or sealed container. Can I take my group out to eat one night?Confrontation Point provides food for your entire stay. However, some youth leaders choose to treat their group to a dinner out at a restaurant one night. We are happy to accommodate you at your own expense. If you choose to do this, the CP staff leading your trip will be able to give you suggestions for local places to eat and may be able to help you make arrangements. If you choose to eat out, we typically suggest Friday evening as an end of the week celebration. How is my group broken up into smaller chore teams?Groups can be divided up in several different ways. Most youth leaders sit down with the CP staff on Sunday evening after they arrive and divide up the teams. Some youth leaders divide their youth into chore teams prior to arrival, so they can separate troublemakers, siblings, cliques, etc. We can accommodate either style. If you choose to divide up your group before you arrive, it works best to have 3 to 6 chore teams with 3 to 7 youth on each team. Each chore team should have at least one chaperone member. What are the facilities like? (Restrooms, showers....)Groups staying at State Parks have tent sites, water, picnic tables, bathroom and shower facilities. There is not usually electricity at the campsites. Wilderness groups have no shower facilities and may have access only to an outhouse. What will the weather be like?Although the weather varies, the average summer highs are between 82-90°F. The average lows are around 60°F. It typically rains about 5 inches a month, so chances are high that it will rain at least once while you are on your trip. What happens in the case of severe weather?All CP staff members are trained in our severe weather procedure. The procedure includes working with local park rangers and officials to determine the severity of the weather and leading groups to approved shelter in the area. CP staff are also equipped with weather radios to monitor the weather situation. What equipment do we need to bring?We provide all group equipment. Each participant should bring their own sleeping bag and ground-pad. For wilderness groups which do overnight hikes, some backpacks can be supplied, although we encourage you to bring as many of your own as possible. Home Repair groups bring their own tools depending on the project (we supply a detailed tool list). What are the tents like?Participants in the Creation Restoration, Home Repair, Mystery Trip, and Wilderness Basecamp Adventure programs will be sleeping in 6-man dome tents by Kelty. They will sleep 4 youth or 3 adults and their gear. All tents have a floor, screens, and a rain fly. We also set up the tents with a tarp between the tent and the ground to help avoid moisture wicking. We make intentional efforts to keep all participants dry, but it is camping. Occasionally things will get damp due to rain and dew, especially if items are touching the outside edges of the tent. Can our chaperones have their own tents?Your chaperones can either share tents with other chaperones or bunk in with the youth. The choice is up to you. The director of your program will discuss your sleeping arrangements and tent requests with you about two weeks prior to your trip. Can we bring our own tents?You are welcome to bring your own tents if you choose. If you decide to bring your own tents, make sure they are sturdy and have an adequate rain fly. (Some of the cheap tents do not hold up well in the Appalachian summer weather.) Also, notify the director of your program when you discuss sleeping arrangements. Can we bring air mattresses?We highly encourage you NOT to bring air mattresses. They take up too much room in the tents. Plus, some campsites do not have electricity nearby to plug in the air compressors to fill them. If you want to bring something to make your sleeping more comfortable, we recommend small ground pads similar to a Therm-a-Rest ® or small foam pad. Can we make a covenant before we arrive?If your group would like to make a covenant before you arrive, that is great. If you would like to wait until you arrive to make a covenant, our CP staff can help guide you through the process. What is the evening worship service like?Typically the group will be split up into small groups that have rotating responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is to plan and lead the evening worship service. The youth usually do a great job. However, youth leaders may also plan and lead the service themselves if they so desire. Should we bring musical instruments?If you have musical instruments such as guitars, small drums, etc., feel free to bring them. They enhance evening worship times and free time. However, you may not want to bring extremely expensive instruments that may be seriously damaged by heat and humidity. If your group has limited packing space, you may also want to limit the number of instruments your group brings. Please do not bring electric amps and equipment, as you may not have electricity to plug them in and we must be courteous to our neighboring campers. No one in my group plays a guitar. Can you provide a guitar player for us?Usually some of our CP summer staff members are guitar players. If you would like CP to provide a guitar playing staff member for your group, notify the director of your program and let him/her know your request prior to the beginning of the summer. We will do our best to arrange it for you, but we cannot guarantee that we will have any guitar playing staff members available to work your group. You may have to sing without accompaniment. Where will we be whitewater rafting? How difficult is it?CP contracts our whitewater rafting activities with an independent rafting outfitter. We will book rafting trips during your experience from our office. Groups raft on the Ocoee River in rapids up to class IV! All levels of experience can participate as each raft has an experienced guide leading the descent. Due to state law, all participants must be at least 12 years old in order to raft on the Ocoee River. Can part of my youth group do one wilderness activity, and part of my group do another activity?We do not allow groups to choose more that one wilderness activity at a time for a number of reasons. Some of our wilderness activities are located in different areas of the state, up to three hours away from each other, making transportation difficult. Because we do not mix youth groups, we may not have the staff and equipment available to safely facilitate multiple activities simultaneously. Can you schedule my group to whitewater raft when we leave on Saturday?CP will not schedule your group to whitewater raft on Saturday. You are responsible for scheduling your own rafting times prior to or after your experience with CP. However, if you call our office, we can provide you with the name and phone numbers of suggested rafting outfitters. I have an extremely overweight youth or chaperone coming on the trip, will he/she be able to do all of the activities?For the most part, all of the activities during your trip are adaptable to almost all levels of physical fitness. If you are overly concerned about any of your participants, feel free to contact the director of your specific program for more details. Also, please notify your director if any of your participants have major physical limitations. One of my participants is very heavy; can the rock climbing/rappeling ropes hold him/her?The ropes we use have a breaking strength of 6500 pounds, well above the weight of any participant. In our rappelling system, we use two ropes in our system for safety and rescue in case of emergency. How high are the cliffs that we will climb and rappel off?Most of the cliffs that CP uses for climbing are 25 to 70 feet high. The rappelling cliffs range from 40 to 120 feet. Is everyone forced to participate in the wilderness activities?We never force anyone to participate in any activity. It is "challenge by choice" alone. Most youth will participate when they understand the safety of the activity and when they are encouraged to challenge themselves by others in the group. If participants are claustrophobic, do they have to go in the cave?We never force anyone to participate in any activity. The caves we use are non-commercial wilderness caves, which are not normally used by the public (other than other serious cavers). These caves all have access into them by walking. The whole route in the cave is walk-able and the roof is normally way above the group's heads. These caverns lead back into smaller passageways. We allow exploration of smaller passages by small groups, but the whole group is never forced to crawl through any small passages. Can we change our wilderness activity?We ask groups to choose a wilderness activity early so that we can order enough gear for the summer and assign your group a base location that is near your wilderness activity. However, we will switch wilderness activities for your group if you notify the director of your program by May 1st. If you decided to switch your wilderness activity after May 1st, call our office as soon as possible. We will do our best to accommodate your request, but we cannot guarantee changes after May 1st. Also note, that you may have to drive further to your wilderness activity if you make a last minute change. |
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Email: CP@ConfrontationPoint.org URL: http://www.ConfrontationPoint.org
1(800)884-8483 or Fax 1(859)858-0144 Address: PO Box 127, Wilmore, KY 40390. Copyright © 2010 Confrontation Point Ministries. |
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