Meet Marty Bennett

Summer & Year Round Role: Director of Discipleship

The man, the big cheese, the guy of infamous quotes and kissy lips...not Marty, but Marty Bennett!

What do you do as the Director of Discipleship in the Summer?
I oversee the recruiting and hiring of the Program and Summer Staff as well as speakers. Then I support, equip and encourage them in their roles and provide spiritual guidance through mentoring. The best part of my role is identifying young leaders and investing in them. My passion is to not only run Summer camp but to help our leaders reach their potential.

What was different about this Summer?
We formed our Program team in January and experienced the benefits of that team development as we went into Summer. We will definitely do that again.  This year we made it mandatory for all Summer staff to be mentored because it is my passion and conviction to see God not only work through them but also IN them. 

What’s been a highlight of Summer 2019 so far?
Working with such an amazing team and having a front row seat to seeing lives transformed. There are a lot of stories of hard hearts becoming soft and walls coming down. It really doesn’t get any better than that!

What’s your Charis Camp Story?
My first summer camp experience here was speaking at Huzzah with my wife. When my kids were old enough to go to Sparks they wanted me to be their Cabin Leader so I volunteered for those weeks to be with my boys. After being a Youth Pastor for 16 years, I started as the Director of Discipleship in 2016 here at Charis Camp. It’s been a fun season of learning, growing and changing as we seek to impact as many young people as possible. It feels like I’m in my sweet spot.

That’s some good stuff...but I heard you are really funny and none of this is funny...
The truth is, I am funny. I just don’t feel a strong need to be funny right now. I just want to enjoy my coffee.  Do you want me to be funny or do you need me to be funny? Because that will determine how this goes.

---

Ya, go ahead and be funny Marty!
I like to laugh.  I’m learning to laugh at myself more and others.  I like to laugh at others, it makes them wonder if they are doing something wrong. They usually are. The reality is, everybody’s got buttons...some are bigger than others...and I like to push them. From my perspective, that’s part of the discipleship process.

Thank you Marty, I hope your boss reads this and makes any necessary changes.

But in all seriousness, Marty Bennett is a gift. He is amazing at developing teams, setting culture and resolving conflict. He does all of this while making us laugh and we love him!

---