It has been a few years since have had the pleasure to participate in kids camp. This is a big ministry of our church and I love being part of it. It is a lot of work, chaotic at times, but makes such an impact in kids lives. A lot of the youth when they share their testimonies before being baptized talk about the impact this camp had on them. Each time I hear that I am reminded that it that all the work is worth it!
So what is kids camp? We load up a bus full of 75 kids and take them to a retreat center on the beach for 5 days. We study God’s word, sing together, do crafts, play sports and let them go in the ocean. We live in a county where the majority are not believers. So for many of this this is a rare opportunity to spend significant time together with other believers. I was so encouraged seeing them all together and knowing what a treasure this time was for them. We slept on mattresses on the floor, ate all together and cleaned toilets together and it was WONDERFUL. The kids love it and I am amazed each year how well it ends up going.
This year we did a new thing and we invited 9 youth from our church to come and be group leaders for each group of kids. It worked really well and it was a huge blessing having these youth there to help us. It also allowed for them to continue to learn more about being involved in kids ministry. What an amazing example of how God was building and equipping his church at all levels.
This was our group for kids camp
Our theme this year what “What we can give to God”
They sang together
They were broken up into groups with a youth leader
Each morning they did devotions together
The youth leader directed this time with the kids
They danced together
Did crafts togther
And had game time
Free time often resulted in an impromptu soccer game 🙂
I praise God for each one of these precious children
May God continue to work in their hearts As They learn to love and follow him
I remember a representative of Brother Andrew saying that he was considering shifting his outreach to children; for if the generation of children can be reached for Christ, it will create a trend that will ripple through every successive generation.
Thank the LORD for these kids! –and for the leaders, who are selflessly giving them their time, energy, and spiritual knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ.