If your kids love shaving cream, water balloons, silly dancing, doing cannon balls in the lake, and weekend trips filled with dancing they need to come with FBCE to the 2018 Centrikid Weekend Camp. All the kids and chaperones who risked a bus ride with their children’s pastor this past year loved camp. And for good reason.
Centrikid hums along like a well oil diesel motor; it has more fun games, classes, and activities than all-inclusive party at Chuck Cheese; and, it has a laser focus on the gospel. I love the Centrikid Weekend Camp experience. I highly recommend it for your kids.
From the moment our kids where greeted by pool-noodle waving staffers until the moment they piled back slowly back onto the bus with autographed T-shirts, the Centrikid staff was all about our kids. They seamlessly processed all of FBCE’s paper work. The Centrikid team took time to talk with and play with all the kids. They were also quick to answer adult questions: “When is lights out?” And when six of our campers felt threatened by an anonymous white guy, the camp director, Meg Brown, and the Camp Pastor, David Pearson, responded quickly and graciously. Thankfully, everything checked out. But their care and concern for us reflected the whole feel of the camp. The Centrikid staff strikes that amazing balance of both keeping a tight schedule and of caring for all the campers. Consequently, I think Centrikid is amazing!
Though us pastors and chaperones appreciate Lifeway’s ability to deftly handle the logistical challenges of caring for several hundred kids, our campers go to camp for camp. And Centrikid Camp rocks camp. Centrikid offers a great assortment of track times ranging from muddy slip-and-slides to fingernail painting. The kids also have a blast playing games they selected. But, camp has only just begun.
Our campers highlight this year was the grand, final game, Organized Mass Chaos (OMC). Our kids loved entering the OMC playing field, racing through the pool noodle tunnel and screaming out their team cheer for the whole world to hear. When the game started, our kids went crazy smashing water balloons, making silly face, putting shaving cream on people, and holding impromptu dance parties as the valiantly pursued victory. For the kids of FBCE, OMC is the game of all games! Hence, they and I think Centrikid is amazing!
We veered over to the Shocco Springs location this year. We loved our new digs. The rooms were a definite upgrade. We all loved having a private bathroom. The amenities Shocco Springs were great. The camp offered bazooka ball (a twist on paint ball, kayaking, and a blob on their lake. We quickly burned through our free time barely finding time for the all-important trip to the snack shop. Thus, I think Centrikid is amazing.
Most importantly, we loved Centrikid’s commitment to the Gospel. From the opening celebration to the closing celebration, the Gospel remained at the forefront of camp. The kids went to four different Bible studies throughout the weekend. They heard the gospel connected back to their track time games during water breaks. And, they heard the gospel clearly articulated from the stage by Pastor David. Our chaperones were also resonated with Pastor David when he illustrated God’s free gift of salvation by giving away candy to one blessed camper. Because the Gospel ebbed and flowed throughout every aspect of camp, the chaperones and I had multiple opportunities to talk with our campers about the gospel. For this reason most of all, I think Centrikid is amazing.
We loved Centrikid this year and cannot wait to go back next year! The only question remaining is: “Are you coming?”
Another exciting month of Connect Camp has come to a close. With the help of over thirty committed adults and youth, First Baptist Eastman was able to put together an amazing day camp that featured everything from Baseball to praise band. During the months of June and July, we connected with forty-five different kids. Each day of camp, we averaged almost 35 kids. We peaked on the first day of camp when 41 arrived. Our lowest attendance occurred on the last day of camp -Thursday, July 14. We hosted 30 kids and 53 kids and adults for our family day luncheon.
Our numbers did trend down a little from last year’s Connect Camp. Last year we averaged 40 students. This year dipped down to about 35 per day. I am not sure why attendance dropped slightly. Perhaps our number were hurt by the Dodge County School schedule, perhaps Camp went down because it started two weeks after VBS, or perhaps we simply encountered a sophomore slump. Regardless, Connect Camp still reaches the largest number of kids of any camp run or attend by FBCE. Lord willing our numbers will rebound next year!
that God is angry with us. We assume that our suffering is directly tied to the verbal barrage we shot at our kids the other night. Thankfully, our God does not work this way. According to the scriptures, we often suffer not because of our sin but because God is working. As Romans 5:3 says, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,” Suffering is for our good. So if the kid who bites, yells, and throws punches winds up in our VBS class, we can still be joyful. That mean kid is here for our benefit. He is here to helps us get closer to God. And he is at our church to be exposed to the grace of God even it comes via discipline.
we will reap, if we do not give up.” If we remain faithful to the word of God, we will reap eternal life. We should not be serving in VBS to impress the kids, our friends, or our pastors. We should serve in VBS because the Holy Spirit is working in us. He is motivating us “to do good to everyone” (Gal. 1:10). And when we are tempted to tie up a kid and toss her into the closet, we give her grace. We work with her because our reward is not a calm night and peace. Its heaven. And if we keep sowing according to the Spirit, we will reap fruit. We will reap eternal life.
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