We all can remember stories of our own or from other's experinces at Camp when we were kids. From Scout Camp to church camp, there is something to be said about the positive effect of taking kids away from their parents for a day or up to a week and having influence over every part of their daily routine.
Some kids come out of their shells and become an outgoing, and influential player in the camp dynamics. Others shrink in to a shell of comfort due to the insecurity of the new environment. Many times children who are one way at church, are quite the opposite in this clean slate environment. (Others do exactly what we hoped they wouldn't.)
Then there is the food, the horseback riding, swimming lessons, and all the fun stuff that we can jam into this very short time so parents feel they got their money's worth. We can truly be tired by Sunday- after all it was us who spent our every *waking* moment with all those kids.
Summer camp is more than all these things, though. Or at least it should be. Pastors, the women's group, the men's fellowship and even the youth group all head off for their respective retreats throughout the year. In doing so, they come back refreshed in body, mind, but hopefully most of all, in SPIRIT.
The same is true with kids. Here are some of the reasons that kids camp is an integral part of a child's spiritual development:
1. It takes children out of their safe and easy environment and tests their will as well as their faith, without the easy reliance of the familiar.
2. It shows them that there are other kids in the world who share their problems, anxieties, fears, who also need to depend on God and their Faith to carry them throughout life.
3. Kids hear that it is not just my church and my family who teach me these Christian values, that others share our belief systems. (Mom and Dad seem to sound less like a broken record)
4. Children can learn an appreciation for their church family, their own family, and the values that are taught there when "the comforts of home" are not as readily available.
Camp can be an integral part of your kids' spiritual journey. Statistics state that more pastors heard the call to Christian service while at camp than at any other time. One Camper has also be quoted as saying, "At Sunday School, they teach all about [the Christian life], but at camp they expect you to DO them!"
For more information about camp for your kids, contact Christian Camping International.
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Janie Gausmann is the KIDS Church Director at Community Christian Fellowship Church in New Baltimore, Virginia. She is also webmaster of ChildrensMinistry.net - the largest online network for children's ministry.
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