This week we are blessed to have guest writers for the Note.
Our Children's Ministers, Brittany Bear and Dusty Schulz share some thoughts.
Hello! Brittany and Dusty here, and we are excited to share stories from our time at camp with you.
This year, we took our Cornerstone Kids to two different camps at Oil Belt Christian Service Camp. The first camp was a weekend for 2nd and 3rd graders that we had the opportunity to plan and participate in. It was a short camp experience, but with the theme of “Deep Sea,” it was packed full of experiences that challenged our kids to grow deeper in faith through the study of God’s Word and the sharing of God’s story.
The second camp we attended was a week for 4th and 5th graders that focused on loving God’s Word. And love God’s Word, they did. As we reflected on our time with campers, some of our favorite moments included children learning to use God’s Word and engaging with what they were finding on the pages. Brittany has a couple stories to share.
Yes, during our 2nd and 3rd grade weekend, I challenged all the campers to memorize a verse from Ephesians, “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” I told campers that they could earn a sticker for their camp bags if they found me and recited this verse from memory. They took this challenge to heart. Kids would run up to me at meal time, rec time, and any time we all gathered in the chapel. They were incredibly eager to share God’s Word, and I was incredibly blessed by their efforts. How sweet it was to hear God’s Word recited from memory over and over again, and with such enthusiasm.
The love of God’s Word didn’t stop there. During our 4th and 5th grade week, I had a camper who didn’t understand how to look up a verse in the Bible. At one of our first small group times, we spent time explaining the books of the Bible and navigating those big and small numbers. She picked up on it pretty quickly, and was soon thumbing through the pages of Scripture looking up verses to memorize. By the time camp ended, she had underlined all the listed verses in her Bible and had committed almost all of them to memory. Campers were not only finding verses on the pages, but were grasping the truth of God’s Word, too. Tell them about one of your stories Dusty!
I had the pleasure of having a lot of our Cornerstone kids in my family group at camp this year. It made for such a fun and intentional week. On night one our groups were given a gospel presentation through a drawing on stage. The speaker explained why and how Jesus died for our sins. After the lesson, the Camp Dean called a kid from my group up onto the stage to retell the story and draw the presentation. He retold it EXACTLY. It was so great and encouraging to see, but it got even better! The next day, our family group was going over the presentation and that same kid began helping the other kids understand and recount the Gospel message. It was such an encouragement to see them engage so much with the Word of God and absorb what they heard!
Let’s take a step back from the fun we had in God’s Word and talk about the fun we had in the cafeteria and around camp. Dusty, I know you enjoyed one of the camp chants the kids did at lunch time.
Oh yes, “Crack an egg on your head, Mr. Dusty. [Clap! Clap!] Crack an egg on your head, Mr. Dusty. [Clap! Clap!] We won’t shut up ‘til you crack it up. Crack an egg on your head, Mr. Dusty. [Clap! Clap!]”
A variation of this chant was done each day, and Dusty’s name was added to the jingle on the final day of camp. The kids loved it! Along with mealtime chants, campers enjoyed rec time at the pool, played various group games, sang loudly and danced in chapel, participated in campfire each night, and ate a lot of candy during canteen. Our camps were not short on fun!
Many of you supported our summer camps through the Invest Wall earlier this year. We are grateful! Because of your generosity, we are able to participate in these weeks and share these stories. We took a total of 40 elementary kids to camp this summer. 40 little lives that heard the Gospel taught and learned to love God’s Word a little bit more.
Camp is a special place, and we praise God for the work he is doing in the lives of our Cornerstone Kids. The work God is doing continues! If you’d like to continue to partner with us in reaching the next generation, there are opportunities to serve in Children’s Ministry here at church. Whether it’s behind the scenes or in a classroom, we’d love for you to join the team! Check out the details about that here.
Looking forward to all that's ahead!
Brittany and Dusty
Our Children's Ministers, Brittany Bear and Dusty Schulz share some thoughts.
Hello! Brittany and Dusty here, and we are excited to share stories from our time at camp with you.
This year, we took our Cornerstone Kids to two different camps at Oil Belt Christian Service Camp. The first camp was a weekend for 2nd and 3rd graders that we had the opportunity to plan and participate in. It was a short camp experience, but with the theme of “Deep Sea,” it was packed full of experiences that challenged our kids to grow deeper in faith through the study of God’s Word and the sharing of God’s story.
The second camp we attended was a week for 4th and 5th graders that focused on loving God’s Word. And love God’s Word, they did. As we reflected on our time with campers, some of our favorite moments included children learning to use God’s Word and engaging with what they were finding on the pages. Brittany has a couple stories to share.
Yes, during our 2nd and 3rd grade weekend, I challenged all the campers to memorize a verse from Ephesians, “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” I told campers that they could earn a sticker for their camp bags if they found me and recited this verse from memory. They took this challenge to heart. Kids would run up to me at meal time, rec time, and any time we all gathered in the chapel. They were incredibly eager to share God’s Word, and I was incredibly blessed by their efforts. How sweet it was to hear God’s Word recited from memory over and over again, and with such enthusiasm.
The love of God’s Word didn’t stop there. During our 4th and 5th grade week, I had a camper who didn’t understand how to look up a verse in the Bible. At one of our first small group times, we spent time explaining the books of the Bible and navigating those big and small numbers. She picked up on it pretty quickly, and was soon thumbing through the pages of Scripture looking up verses to memorize. By the time camp ended, she had underlined all the listed verses in her Bible and had committed almost all of them to memory. Campers were not only finding verses on the pages, but were grasping the truth of God’s Word, too. Tell them about one of your stories Dusty!
I had the pleasure of having a lot of our Cornerstone kids in my family group at camp this year. It made for such a fun and intentional week. On night one our groups were given a gospel presentation through a drawing on stage. The speaker explained why and how Jesus died for our sins. After the lesson, the Camp Dean called a kid from my group up onto the stage to retell the story and draw the presentation. He retold it EXACTLY. It was so great and encouraging to see, but it got even better! The next day, our family group was going over the presentation and that same kid began helping the other kids understand and recount the Gospel message. It was such an encouragement to see them engage so much with the Word of God and absorb what they heard!
Let’s take a step back from the fun we had in God’s Word and talk about the fun we had in the cafeteria and around camp. Dusty, I know you enjoyed one of the camp chants the kids did at lunch time.
Oh yes, “Crack an egg on your head, Mr. Dusty. [Clap! Clap!] Crack an egg on your head, Mr. Dusty. [Clap! Clap!] We won’t shut up ‘til you crack it up. Crack an egg on your head, Mr. Dusty. [Clap! Clap!]”
A variation of this chant was done each day, and Dusty’s name was added to the jingle on the final day of camp. The kids loved it! Along with mealtime chants, campers enjoyed rec time at the pool, played various group games, sang loudly and danced in chapel, participated in campfire each night, and ate a lot of candy during canteen. Our camps were not short on fun!
Many of you supported our summer camps through the Invest Wall earlier this year. We are grateful! Because of your generosity, we are able to participate in these weeks and share these stories. We took a total of 40 elementary kids to camp this summer. 40 little lives that heard the Gospel taught and learned to love God’s Word a little bit more.
Camp is a special place, and we praise God for the work he is doing in the lives of our Cornerstone Kids. The work God is doing continues! If you’d like to continue to partner with us in reaching the next generation, there are opportunities to serve in Children’s Ministry here at church. Whether it’s behind the scenes or in a classroom, we’d love for you to join the team! Check out the details about that here.
Looking forward to all that's ahead!
Brittany and Dusty
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