Staff Profile: Sydney “Vibes” Batten

Between her home state of Tennessee and her experience in Pine Cove’s East Texas, Central Texas, and Southeast regions, Sydney “Vibes” Batten has kept the roads hot! Her love for Pine Cove City has kept her traveling countless miles for the sake of the Kingdom: learning a lot and building awesome relationships along the way! From never having heard of Pine Cove to faithfully pouring herself out in a variety of roles, she’s the utility player we all want on our team… and on our aux. This senior site director knows exactly how to bring the fun and the silly—and she might even surprise you with her gamer-girl skills. Paddle on over and read about how Team Kayak’s navigator has journeyed across the entire Pine Cove map. Discover what the Lord has placed on her heart and mind as summer 2026 quickly approaches!

What is your job, and how did you get to Pine Cove?

I’m the Senior Site Director in the Southeast. Right now I’m kind of doing two jobs: I oversee Southeast City, and I’m also a Site Director for City Team Kayak. I first got connected to Pine Cove in college at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I had never heard of it before, but one of my friends, Brooks (who’s now the Associate Director at the Springs) had grown up going to Pine Cove and worked there one summer with another one of our friends. One day I got a random text from someone on full-time staff and it turns out he had sent them my number… without telling me. I genuinely thought it was spam. My roommate and I ended up interviewing the same day. We walked out and looked at each other and said, “Are we going to Texas this summer?” And we did!

Every summer for my first four years was different. I was a first-half counselor at the Ranch in 2021, then a senior counselor at the Springs. My third summer, I was supposed to be Work Crew Director at the Springs. A week before camp started, Caleb Carter called and said they needed an Associate Site Director in Texas and gave me the green light to interview. He called me on Thursday, I graduated college on Saturday, I went to the Springs to say goodbye to friends the next week, then flew to Houston and became the Associate Site Director for Team Jungle for the summer of 2023. The summer of 2024 marked the first year in my current position with Kayak.

What is your camp name and how did you get it?

They asked me pretty straightforward questions in my name game. My full camp name is “The Vibe Has Broken,” but I go by Vibes. They asked what I’m most passionate about, and my lifelong dream and the top of my bucket list is to be on Survivor. If you’re familiar, when someone gets voted out, Jeff says, “The tribe has spoken.” So that’s the framework of my name. They asked what I’m really bad at, and I said dancing—you vibe when you dance. Then they asked if I’ve broken any bones, and I’ve broken six. And there you have it… “The Vibe Has Broken.”

What is your favorite part of your job?

I would say my favorite things about City is that there are three major parts to it: campers, staffers, and church partners. I love all three. Partnering in ministry with churches is unique to City, and I love how there’s lots of moving parts working together for the Kingdom. I’m literally about to drive to a site visit in Johnson City, Tennessee, going to see two church contacts who I absolutely love, and I’m like, nobody else who works on-site is getting to do that! I also really love my staff. With City, you’re together all the time, so you get pretty close to one another quickly! I love that I get to spend so much time with them, and it’s really fun and sweet getting to do that while traveling.

Are there any hilarious or unexpected stories from this past summer?

There’s definitely one lunch that stands out. Most of leadership was prepping for skit, so it was basically me and one other senior counselor holding down lunch with all the campers and counselors. I grabbed the aux and started playing the most random songs, taking requests from campers. At one point, I had 20 campers surrounding me while I was at the computer on Spotify. I’d play 30 seconds of a song, then switch it. They would go absolutely crazy. It was the most chaotic lunch we’ve ever had—but also the most fun. I kept playing the “Among Us” song, and watching campers tuck their arms into their shirts and jump around like the characters was the funniest thing ever.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I’m embarrassed to say it… but I love playing video games. I have two older brothers, and during COVID we played all the time. That’s when I really got hooked. I remember telling my mom, “I understand why boys like video games so much. This is so fun.” It’s better than just scrolling on my phone. I get to talk to friends while playing and actually interact. So yes… I’m a gamer.

What are you praying for this upcoming summer?

First and foremost, safety—for campers and staff. With City, we often enter campers’ spaces, so I pray that whether it’s their first time stepping into a church or it’s their home church, they would feel safe. But ultimately, my biggest prayer is that campers and staff would leave camp knowing they are seen, known, loved, and valued—by us, but most importantly by the Father.

Secondly, when I first worked at camp, I was unsure of my identity and even nervous to pray out loud. I left that summer with a new confidence—not because of anything I did, but because of how the Lord worked. My prayer every summer is that campers and staff would experience that same kind of transformation and walk away knowing how to walk with the Lord differently than when they came in.

What has God used Pine Cove to teach you?

How to abide. From my very first summer, that has been foundational. We cannot do ministry, or much of anything, apart from the Lord. Pine Cove has taught me not just the idea of abiding, but what it actually looks like. Through leaders like Caleb Carter and Rebecca Smith, speakers, and the people at Pine Cove who model it well, I’ve learned practical ways to stay connected to the Vine and walk in daily dependence.