In 2021, Christ the Redeemer and Kick teamed up to run a summer sports camp in Barnwell. This was only the beginning as the camp opened the door for other projects…
“Back in 2021, we looked at a few different Christian organisations that used sport to build relationships with young people and children. We chose Kick as we liked the model they use and they were looking to branch out beyond London. Therefore we agreed to run a sports summer camp in partnership with them in July 2021.
Following on from that, in 2022 Christ the Redeemer, Barnwell Baptist and St Barnabas Church ran The Active Summer Camp and brought in Kick coaches to help on the week. The Active Summer Camp 2022 was a very successful holiday camp. We saw around 40 children and 15 young people attend, with multiple points in the week where we could see God at work. The children really engaged with the theme of the Camp “Jesus is….King/Teacher/ Provider/ Friend/ Saviour” and the way we taught it too. We used multisport games to teach the content we had prepared, which worked extremely well with the children who struggle to engage otherwise.
The Camp was also an opportunity to see young people grow not only in their leadership skills but also their faith, with a dedicated slot each day for the young people to explore their faith.
For the children that came, it was amazing to see how much they remembered from the morning sessions, where we taught them an aspect of who Jesus is each day. This was then seen in the quiet time after lunch, where the volunteers and coaches were able to have great conversations with the children about the topic of the day.
From the camp as well, we have seen two families start coming to church regularly, as a direct result of the children coming to the summer camp.
The young people were also impacted as they learnt about what it means to serve other people, giving up their time to serve the children that attended. We saw young people throughout the week understanding this and showing this in what they did. Whether it was encouraging children to join in the activities on offer, or playing games with children when they were on their own. The young people began to model how to serve faithfully and be servant-hearted as well as the week progressed.
Also, having the space and time for themselves to be invested in (through teaching and content designed for them), we saw them develop in their relationships with God and in their faith journey.
The first year we ran our Summer camp, back in July 2021, we ran it in partnership with Kick. From this, Kick have been able to build a strong relationship with the local Primary school The Galfrid. Subsequently, this has meant we have been able to run an afterschool club once a week called Kick Academy. As for last year’s Camp, as a church, we were able to continue to strengthen our relationship with the school, opening the door for various projects we have to offer.”
We love to hear about churches or organisations working in partnership! It’s so encouraging to see the impact that the camp had on both young people and leaders and how it was a catalyst for further projects connecting with the local community.