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And just like that... summer is almost over! School is back in session, the temps are falling, and we are now finally in a spot where we can catch our breath before fall programming kicks in. Here's a recap of our summer, as well as a peek at what lies ahead this fall... |
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Summer Camp
We hosted three camp events this summer.
Our first event was Adventure Camp in Nunica June 30 - July 3. We had 12 campers with us for 4 days of roughing it in the woods. We were blessed to have two volunteers and two interns from our global office join us for our adventure!
Our teaching time centered around some significant trees in the Bible - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the "tree" that our Savior died on. We also talked about how trees produce fruit in the same way that a believer in Christ bears fruit too! In addition to Bible teaching, campers also learned a few survival skills, enjoyed some time tubing on the river, and experienced "The Amazing Race - flashlight edition!". This was our 2nd year at the same location, and we have plans to return there again next summer, so stay tuned! |
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Following Adventure Camp, we hosted two Day Camps. The first was at Nortonville Gospel Chapel in Spring Lake, held July 21-25. We were joined by 28 volunteers and three interns from our global office.
This was our third year at this location, and we had 34 campers turn out. Brian Harmon from Open Air Campaigners was our speaker this year, and he taught us lessons from the life of Moses. We saw how God called Moses and used him to deliver the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt. We looked at the passover and saw how just as God delivered the Israelites from judgement through their faith in his promise, so we too can be delivered from the penatly of our sin through faith in his Son. The Gospel was shared very clearly, and we pray it will bear fruit in these young lives! |
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Spring Lake Day Camp 2025 |
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Our final camp event of the summer was another Day Camp held at Grand Haven Community Baptist, Aug 11-15. There were 31 campers who joined us, along with 18 volunteers. One of our volunteers was actually a camper from our previous year!
Our teaching for that week of camp was on the book of Jonah. We learned that, although the book bears Jonah's name and he is the main character, the book is really more about God's grace and mercy than it is about Jonah. We saw how God showed incredible love and forgiveness towards this disobedient prophet, and learned how likewise he offers us forgiveness through his Son. |
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Grand Haven Day Camp 2025 |
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Summer Book Club
We launched our new Summer Book Club this year and had 11 students join us. This club is a "sampler" of what our Community Book Clubs look like, and we had several newcomers join us. We met three times and discussed two books : The Girl Who Stole and Elephant and The Simple Art of Flying. As with our community clubs, the objective of this club is to introduce and discuss biblical themes through good children's literature. We covered topics such as consequences of our actions, friendship, sacrifice, loyalty and contentment. |
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New : After-School book clubs
We are introducing After-School Book Clubs this year! We are beginning the program with just two schools, and depending upon how things go, we would like to expand into other schools. Please pray with us that students would sign up, and that we would use this open door to share the gospel with students who wouldn't otherwise attend our Released Time classes. |
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