GOSPEL-CENTERED ADVENTURE CAMP FUN!
“There are two paths you can choose to take!” shared Jessica Dodson passionately with a group of 9-13-year-old campers. “The way of the world, which can never satisfy, or the way of Jesus, who can bring deep satisfaction to your heart!”
When Jess and her good friend a college roommate Meg Clanton, this year’s co-directors at New Song’s Summer Adventure Camps presented New Song with their idea for a scripture theme for this year’s summer camps—Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)—our staff team was very excited and wholeheartedly embraced the idea! The theme was woven throughout each of the week-long camps, as well as the 3-day mini-camp held for our 6-8-year-old campers.
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It’s hard to believe it, but this summer marked our 5th year of holding camps for vulnerable children on the New Song campus. What a tremendous encouragement it has been to our ministry as we’ve been able to bless more than 150 children in Jesus’ name with so many fun and new experiences, including:
- Climbing the new rock wall!
- Going on a creek walk and going under a waterfall in a Bloomington park (and seeing the IU
- campus on the way back)!
- Swimming, kayaking, and canoeing in the New Song pond!
- Singing camp songs!
- Camp fires and smores!
- An outdoor movie night under the stars!
- Tug of war, an obstacle course, bucket ball, basketball, and tether ball matches!
- Making a pinewood derby car and racing it down the four-lane track!
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“The boys and girls had such a blast with all of the activities,” shared New Song’s Director, Bob Schloss, who served as a house dad to the male campers at the boys’ home this summer. “Their overall favorite was the Slip-N-Slide down our park hill. It was loads of fun for them!”
We were so glad to see the level of engagement the campers showed during the camp devotional times, which were held each morning before the activities began. One devotional time was focused on each of the aspects of Jesus listed in John 14:6: The way, the truth, and the life. All of the kids were presented with a children’s bible during the awards ceremony at the end of the camps, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous supporter.
Helping to make this year’s camp possible were dozens of ministry friends who made financial gifts in support of the camps, several churches that helped prepare the New Song grounds for the camps and made frozen breakfast casseroles for the campers, as well as the amazing ministries of Family Hope of Central Indiana and Renewal Neighborhood Ministries of Indianapolis—both of which referred campers to New Song, and also our incredible camp volunteers Joel and Jewell Williamson and Amy Tenney (who serves as Family Hope’s Church Engagement facilitator).
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“I really feel like the camp helped develop a sense of community among the girls within our ministry,” shared Audrey May, of Renewal.
We are so, so grateful to everyone who supported our summer camps this year. You helped to give kids some very special experiences that they will remember forever. If you’d like to be involved in next year’s summer camps, please let us know! In the meantime, please pray that each of the campers and their families will come to know Jesus as “the way, the truth, and the life!”