Spring Break Camp Recap

Total City Sports Spring Break Camp 2011 was a great week for campers and staff alike. We looked at what it meant to be “ALL-IN” as we focused on the biblical principles found in Luke 10:27:

Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your strength and with ALL your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.

Each day of camp featured a new aspect of our theme verse that was integrated into the day’s activities. During arts & crafts time each day, campers learned a new lesson from the verse. Then a daily skit about a dysfunctional basketball team displayed to campers how to apply the lesson learned the previous day. By the end of the week, all of the children at camp knew the memory verse by heart and left encouraged to overcome obstacles in their daily life by relying on God with ALL their heart, soul, strength, and mind.

Even though camp was intended to teach the participants about God, He also taught our staff to be ALL-IN and rely on His power and His provision instead of our own. Despite extensive efforts to attract a large number of participants, only 15 children came on the first day, which was significantly lower than expected. Although we were at first discouraged by the turnout, we soon realized that God’s love was being displayed to those 15 kids through more personal attention than would have been possible according to our plans. From that point on, we as a staff committed to placing ALL of our trust in the Lord that His will would be done.  By the last day of camp, we had over 100 kids in attendance.

Another blessing was a last-minute location change. In the past, camp had been held at La Iglesia Familia Ebenezer, a local church in St. John. This year construction at Ebenezer required us to move camp to The For the City Center. By the grace of God, the transition was smooth and allowed for some unexpected opportunities. Camp proved to be an excellent avenue for Total City Sports to engage the community and increase our presence in the St. John neighborhood. We served community members by taking care of their children while they waited in line for food at the Capital Area Food Bank at The For the City Center. We also hosted a community BBQ and carnival on Friday, where families came together to enjoy free food, face-painting, bounce castles, and fun.

We hope that TCS Spring Break Camp has provided The For the City Center with greater visibility and trust in the community. Relationships were formed with campers and their parents, which will hopefully lead to their ongoing participation in our other TCS programs, and in doing so, increase the opportunities that we have to share the Gospel with them.

Glory be to God for all that happened at Spring Break Camp 2011. We can’t wait for what He does in 2012!