The Refuge Pulls off Five Summer Programs

This summer at The Refuge was such a joy. We hosted five different camps for two age groups, kids going into 1st-3rd grade and those heading into 4th-6th. The themes included Science Camp, Lil’ Investigators, Cooking Camp, Christmas in July, and Art Camp. Each one was a blast, but more than anything, what mattered most were the relationships that were formed.

Many of the same kids came back week after week, which gave us the chance to really get to know them. Our hope is that every time they walked through our doors, they not only had fun but also felt seen, loved, and learned a little about Jesus. At The Refuge, sharing the love of Jesus is at the heart of everything we do, especially in the summer when we get to connect with kids who don’t regularly attend.

Before each camp day started, we would take time to read a short devotion and pray. Some might see that as taking away from camp time, but for us, it’s the most important part. It’s easy to assume everyone knows about Jesus, but that’s often not the case. So if we can pause for 10-15 minutes to talk about Him, answer questions, and pray together, that’s a moment we never want to miss.

My prayer is that every child who came through our doors this summer experienced a glimpse of Christ’s unconditional love. Loving others isn’t always easy, but it becomes a little more natural when we understand what true love really looks like: God sending His Son so that we might have life. Jesus took our sin upon Himself, bore the punishment we deserved, and made a way for us to be in fellowship with God. That’s the greatest love story there is.

Of course, we had a lot of fun too; exploding Coke with Mentos, discovering fingerprint patterns, cooking up delicious Mexican food, having snowball fights in July, and learning about famous artists. But above all, we learned more about God and His incredible love for us.

We also brought back our character study this year, which is one of my favorite parts of the summer. We looked at the lives of ordinary people from history who were used by God in amazing ways. It’s such a good reminder that God delights in using ordinary people for His glory and our good.

I’m deeply thankful for how God has provided for us, giving us what we need to continue offering these camps and classes. And I pray we’ll get to do this for many more summers to come.