Are we seriously committed to raising our kids as disciples of Jesus Christ?  Do we want the children and youth of our congregation and community to have a vibrant, life-giving faith that will nurture, sustain, and energize their life until they are 100 years old?

I made it up to Camp Wapo for the day to visit all of our kids and touch base with Corey.  Selfishly, I wish my schedule would have allowed spending a whole week at camp, but that wasn’t going to work this week.  Here’s why I am going to make it work to spend the week at camp next summer…

• A group of our young girls was laughing and singing camp worship songs together as they were walking along outside, as if it was the most normal thing to do.
• 4th, 5th, and 6th grade boys were not only competing who could read the most Bible verses at their Bible study, but who could answer the most questions, or better yet, come up with really deep and profound questions about God, the Bible, and the life of faith to stump their counselors.
• A 6th grade boy from our church volunteered to close the Bible study with prayer – and it was a GOOD ONE!  Not one of these quickie, silly prayers, but a well thought out, wide-ranging, heart-felt prayer to God of thanks, help, and guidance for the lives and faith of all of his new found friends.
• While being taught how to make friendship bracelets, an elementary girl talked about her concerns and prayers for her grandfather and uncle.  ”I’m praying for them every morning and every night, and I don’t want to stop praying when I leave camp.”  I told her I’d be praying with her.
• Then she said, “If church could be more like camp, I’ll bet more kids would make their parents bring them!“

Sports teams, musicians, actors, dancers, and cheer leaders all know and understand the importance of an intense week of summer training.  It not only inundates the kids with skills and excitement for their given sport or activity, it creates bonding and team building too.  Hockey camp, soccer camp, volleyball camp, band camp, language camp, Scout camp, and any other you can think of, all understand the importance and power of spending one whole week focused on one major thing.  It pays dividends all the rest of the year.

Wouldn’t we, as a community of faith, as Christian parents and adults, want that same kind of experience of faith for our kids?  That’s what church camp, or a mission trip, is all about for kids (and adults too): an intensive time focusing on building their relationship, knowledge, and understanding of God and their faith, as well as building friendships with other Christian kids.  This includes improving “skills” such as studying the Bible, praying, worshipping, and serving others.  Oh, and did I mention church camp is incredibly fun too?

So, here’s my crazy idea: let us together commit to sending every kid from 3rd grade to 12th grade to some sort of church camp or mission trip experience every summer.  We might have to add a backpacking or boundary waters option for senior high youth, a week of confirmation camp, or even a day camp option for kids who don’t want to be away from home overnight.  The possibilities are endless.  The question is one of commitment and support from parents and adults in the church.

Well, what do you think?