Walk the Line

You’re standing there, terrified of what people will think of you if you cross the room to “walk the line.” “What would they say if they only knew?” Then you see your friends walk and you realize that you’re not alone, and you now have the courage to take the leap of faith.

At the Timbers, Camp Director TJ “Philly” Connor started a program that has taken Pine Cove by storm. This activity, known as “Walk the Line,” is a way for campers and counselors to break down barriers, promote community, and serve as a reminder that no one is alone in their struggles.

“Walk the Line” is an event where two parallel lines are placed about six feet apart across the gym floor. Campers and counselors are told to stand behind the line furthest from the stage. The speaker will then ask a series of questions and if it applies to you, you will “walk the line,” by walking across the room to the other line drawn on the ground. Those who walked the line will then link together and stand facing those who did not walk.

In college, Philly and some of his friends volunteered at a public high school event where they participated in this kind of activity. Instead of gospel-directed questions being asked, they were all about how YOU can be the hero in your own life. After the event, Philly realized they missed the opportunity to share the gospel, as more than 300 kids had just been taught that it was their job to control their own destiny. He and a few of his friends decided to make this activity their own and alter it to point people to Christ.

When Philly first joined the staff at Pine Cove, he was a senior counselor at Camp in the City. That’s where “Walk the Line” first made its appearance at Pine Cove. When he became the director of the Timbers, one of his first acts was to implement this activity into the Timbers program.

Now after years of perfecting it, “Walk the Line” is one of the most talked about and effective programs to break down barriers with campers. Philly describes it as a “walking testimony,” especially with eighth and ninth graders, as they aren’t as likely to share their testimony with others. With this activity, just by crossing the line they are sharing their stories and their struggles. A few other camps have started implementing this activity too.

Philly explains that when starting off, he doesn’t jump straight into the difficult personal questions—it’s a progression. At the beginning it starts off broad, for example, “Walk the line if you have a large family,” and similar questions to see who shares basic similarities. After that, the questions will be narrowed down to friends and family, such as, “Walk the line if you’ve ever lost a loved one to cancer or any other disease,” or “Walk the line if you never live up to your parents’ expectations.” These are more serious and allow for a segway into the extremely personal questions like “Walk the line if you’ve ever felt alone,” or “Walk the line if you’ve fallen into sexual sin.”

There are three rules that comes with this activity: no one stands alone, there’s no talking, and everyone supports each other.

“The biggest lie we are taught in society is that we’re alone,” says Philly, who explains that this is the backbone of Walk the Line.

When people walk the line, they link arms to show each other that they are not alone. Not everyone is going to walk for every question, so if someone doesn’t end up walking during questions, they can hold up the hand sign that stands for “I love you” in sign language to show support to those who did walk. This also represents that even if someone doesn’t struggle with the same things you are, they are still there to support and love you.

After every question, Philly will follow up with a passage of scripture and a moment of reflection. For example, he might say, “Walk the line if you have made fun of someone in this room.” Once people cross the line, he’ll follow up with, “Why do we do that? Does Christ call us to love one another? Were we making fun of someone to cover up our own insecurities?”

Once the activity is over, the participants are challenged to be leaders by taking the first step and sharing the gospel through their stories. They’re reminded that they are not defined by their pain and struggles, but can find their full identity in Christ.

Philly will then encourage them to follow up with someone about this and dive deeper with each other. Finally, he plays the Sanctus Real song “We Need Each Other,” and challenges everyone to hug as many people as they can in 50 seconds, breaking the somber silence and improving the mood.

Overall, this activity has been proven effective over and over again. It’s a favorite among staff and campers and is looked forward to every year. “Walk the Line” is a great way to break the lie that we are alone in our struggles and that no one cares. As believers, our hope is in Christ, and we are never alone!