SUPAKIDZ CAMPS

A VALUABLE PLACE FOR FAITH TO FORM.

SUPAkidz camps are a wonderful place to grow faith for primary school children, from Year 4 to 6 at school. Each year an estimated 130 children attended three camps throughout New Zealand to have fun and get to know about God in a safe environment during the school holidays. SUPAkidz aims to give the children a great time with lots of games and activities as well as growing them on their faith journey. Each camp has a biblical theme and we read the Bible aloud to them each day and explore it in an interactive way. We also teach the children how to have a Quiet Time and model it to them. A mother told us how her child had returned from camp transformed. Eager to read the Word and pray out loud, he came home peaceful and contented rather than angry and frustrated. Going to camp also boosted his confidence and he went on to spend a week staying with his grandparents without any homesickness. But why would a child who had been on a SUPAkidz camp come back to camp later as a leader? There are several reasons for this, the most compelling being the value people find in living in a ‘temporary community’. Camps give people time to form deep relationships and get to know one another in a quality way over a week or several days, rather than just meeting for a few hours each week. Camp life allows leaders to build trust and share their personal faith journey with children too. Leaders build relationships at the meal table, serving together, playing games and while doing team building exercises and activities. And as a result, it’s not only campers who grow in their faith; leaders do too. As one leader wrote, “Serving on camp had rekindled my desire to spend daily time with God through reading the Bible, and it has given me a new boldness to share my faith story with others.” Andrew Ramsbottom works for Scripture Union in Auckland where he is the Children and Families Consultant. He has led on SUPAkidz camps for many years now and he knows their value firsthand.