Author: Elizabeth Mullins

On June 15 – 17, Grace Communion Jacksonville hosted its third annual neighborhood youth camp. From 9:00 am – 7:00 pm, Thursday through Saturday, we hosted 34 campers ages 7 – 18. This year we had a 33% increase over last year. About half were first-time campers, and over a third came from the neighborhoods surrounding our church building.

Best Practices and Lessons Learned

• Twenty-six volunteer staff members helped with counseling, food, and activities. We also had a nurse. For those considering starting a neighborhood camp, you can do it with less staff. But we prefer to have three counselors with each of our grouping of campers, which we organize into four groups: pre-teen girls, pre-teen boys, teen girls, and teen boys. Of course, the kitchen crew is important. We offer three meals a day, and we’ve learned we usually need around 4-6 volunteers for a camp of 50 or more.
• Several other GCI congregations and ministries donated funds to help with the camp costs, and we’re very grateful. It enabled some deserving youth to be sponsored and helped to cover the expenses of our offsite outings.
• We’ve learned that the neighborhoods near our church are mainly positive towards churches and their members. So for us, it works well to have a spiritual focus. Each morning we start with breakfast, followed by a daily chapel service featuring praise and worship, and a prepared Christian message, with some interaction as well. Our three-year theme has been “God’s Grace” and each year we have taught various aspects and applications thereof. This year’s focus scripture was Titus 2:11-12 about how the grace of God has appeared and “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…” (NIV). All of this is shared within an atmosphere of love and acceptance shown for all the children, even when we do sometimes have to admonish them to show love to others at camp as well.
• We try to offer a wide variety of activities so that no one misses out on having some fun, and two off-site outings (the zoo and water park). We also include exposure to a Christian movie.

For more information, check out facebook.com/cffjax. As an aid in planning for your own neighborhood camp, we would also be happy to share our schedule, curriculum, and job descriptions.

Marty Davey, Pastor
Jacksonville, FL, US

On June 14 – 15, Grace Communion Derby hosted our first neighborhood day camp, “A Passport to Adventure.” The theme verse was Joshua 1:9. Camp ran from 7:30 am to 5 pm. God blessed us with 11 campers, 1st through 5th graders. Twenty-two staff members, ages 14 to 86, supported the camp. Fifteen came from GCDerby and three from local connections. We were also pleased to have the support and collaboration of three volunteers from two other GCI camps in our region.

On both mornings, campers arrived for a hot breakfast. Each day was filled with activities of music, worship skits, an escape room, arts and crafts, a science lab, board games, and outside events. The outside events included relay races, a water balloon toss, and any race that included getting wet to some degree.

We utilized church grounds and a city park across the street. Signage and flags identified the event to all who drove past. One of our members (74-year-old) served as a crossing guard.

A hot lunch and afternoon snack breaks were served each day. We ran two team tracks. Each team had an adult “navigator” leader. Campers had a personal passport with their picture. As they participated in the events, their passports would be stamped. Staff members came alongside the campers to support, cheer, and love them. No camper was left alone; someone would always engage and support them throughout the day.

As the camp concluded Thursday, parents came to a cookout and fixings for supper. Campers shared their artwork. The evening concluded with campers performing their musical skits.

Best Practices and Lessons Learned

• • Know your neighborhood. We served breakfast, because we learned that many campers participate in a free and reduced-price lunch program at their schools.
  • We offered scholarships to those who needed one. One parent told us that without the scholarship, her child would not have been able to come. Other parents expressed their gratitude.

Words cannot begin to share how much God blessed this camp. The universal feeling post-camp is we miss the campers!

Kirk Hayden, Pastor
Derby, KS, US

Grace Communion Big Sandy was blessed to hold our first neighborhood day camp. We had a great time with the young people that attended and are grateful for God giving us this opportunity to participate in Jesus’ ministry in our community. It took a lot of planning and work, but it was definitely worth it!

Below is a description from our Love Avenue Assistant, Anna McIver.

Jerome Ellard, Pastor
Big Sandy, TX, US

The camp was held from Thursday, June 8 to Saturday, June 10. Each day began with a free lunch at noon; activities started at 1:00 pm, with a brief snack break at 3:00 pm. The day ended at 5:00 pm. The theme for Thursday was Challenge Day: Mind and Body Challenge Games. The games on Friday added the challenge of water elements.

Camp ended on Saturday with a Family Day. Campers played a game called, Minute to Win It, learned dining etiquette, and helped prepare and serve dinner to their families. During the free spaghetti dinner, the campers and their families enjoyed a slideshow of camp. Fifty-two attended our dinner, including the staff. We also presented a few awards for the campers and mini campers. Afterwards, roughly 30 stayed for a movie. Some of our guests preferred to stay in the dining hall to continue their conversations.

Best Practices and Lessons Learned

• • Throughout the three days, we had 25 volunteer workers. Staff jobs included: registration, food crew, medics, activity directors, security, crafts, tech, and spaghetti dinner prep. Most staff doubled as activity assistants.
  • Pre-registration opened online a week before camp. A QR code linked to our google doc. Thirteen campers pre-registered, which helped the registration team and shortened the check-in time.
  • Thirty-one campers attended. We anticipated 25 campers as our max capacity, with a target audience of 5th – 12th grades. However, we only had 16 in this age range. We had 15 campers who were 5th graders or younger.

We had a great turnout for our first attempt at neighborhood camp.

Editor’s Note: For our Ordinary Time Devotional series, you will be hearing entirely from young authors. They will be sharing their perspectives on the theme, “God is in the streets.” Enjoy reading how the next generation of emerging GCI leaders experiences God outside the walls of the Sunday church gathering.

I see God in many places throughout my daily life. I see him in the sounds of birds in the morning when I first wake up. I see him in the smiles that grace my parents’ faces when they see me for the first time each day. I see God when I pet my dog in the morning, and she smiles or kisses my face. I experience God whenever I can do something that brings me joy.

When I listen to music, Gospel or not, I hear God. When I look at nature, I see God and the beauty that he has given us every day, even the things that we may take for granted. I also see God on social media at times. There have been times when I am thinking of a certain friend. Then I go on Instagram or TikTok, and I see they have posted something that lets me know that they are doing well. I see God whenever I see a photo or video of someone doing something that they are very passionate about.

Lastly, I see God in the little things that happen every day that let me know he is looking out for me. There are times when I feel alone or distant from God, especially when I am anxious about something. Then, he does something that helps me remember that he is always with me, and I am never alone.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Prayer: Thank you, God, for always being with us. For giving us all the things that we see as beautiful, as a constant reminder of your everlasting love for us. You give us everything we need so that we want for nothing, and we can feel you everywhere. Amen.

Serena Mills
Steele Creek Church Plant, NC, US

Dennis Richards and I were thrilled to be able to join our Fiji family for their Pentecost service. Members had boarded a minibus at Lautoka in the West at around 6:00 AM for the three-hour trip to Suva, and another minibus came from Rakiraki, more than two hours away. There were 83 in attendance in the hall, plus another 17 participating on Zoom, for a total of exactly 100 people.

After several delightful items of special music, including a children’s action song, Dennis gave an inspiring sermon based on the 1 Corinthians 12 passage about spiritual gifts. Then I led a communion service. After the service, the hall was quickly transformed into a dining room and the members enjoyed lively fellowship over a bounteous potluck lunch, the tables laden with a huge variety of local dishes.

All too soon, it was time for the minibuses to take the members from the other side of the island home again, everyone buzzing with memories of a wonderful Spirit-filled celebration of this very special day. It was quite evident that the same Holy Spirit who came at Pentecost 2,000 years ago is still filling and guiding the body of Christ in the islands of Fiji.

Rex Morgan, Pastor
Auckland, New Zealand

Surrey Hills is celebrating another incredible move of the Holy Spirit throughout our church and neighborhood. Camp Surrey 2023 was a huge success serving 87 campers from grades K-7^th. Most of these campers have become familiar faces, which is something that we relish in being a neighborhood church. These are the same faces we see throughout the year at our different neighborhood events, at the school, the neighborhood park, or gas station. Many of these children and parents are more than neighbors, as they have become our friends, and some have become members. It’s mind-blowing what happens when we let Jesus build his church, and we simply participate in the great commandment of loving God and loving our neighbors.

This was our 4^th year of doing “Camp Surrey” in person. Every year, we have grown, we have learned, and we have adapted. This year, God did something incredible as we were able to accept 87 campers because of the generosity of 65 incredible staff volunteers! This camp felt very different from previous years, and we had found our “sweet spot.” This camp ended with many tears from campers begging for it to last longer. It was unanimously obvious, that this year was a favorite.

Campers enjoyed kayaking, a climbing wall, an incredible escape room, swimming, and many indoor and outdoor activities. Our theme was “Mission: I’m-possible,” and everything from décor, to activities, and Pastor Joe & Miss Nikki’s messages at the Spirit Rallies were themed and filled with interaction and fun. Every single camper was impacted in a big way and left knowing that they are loved.

On the last day of the camp celebration, we announced next year’s theme and opened a pre-registration link. As of today, we have over 51 families already pre-registered for next year! Wow! We will continue to follow up with these campers and their families throughout the year both online and in-person. Our next follow-up event is our back-to-school water balloon battle and neighborhood block party! We are so excited!

Thank you to everyone for your prayers as we continue our planning for Camp Surrey 2024: “Survivor.”

Ceeja Malmkar, Love Avenue Champion & MTC Coordinator
Surrey Hills, OK, US