Kids Camp is quite possibly the greatest week of the year for Kids and for Kids Ministry. The value of getting kids away from their ordinary distractions, placing them together for a week of fun, relationships and spending hours daily with God and His Word is priceless.
Now let’s discuss 3 ideas that will help you make the most of the spiritual mileage that was gained at Kids Camp.
#1. Affirm: As part of your regular ministry times, affirm every child who attended camp. Tell them how proud you are of how they listened and entered in during the praise, worship and altar times. If you have some video clips of camp fun and service times, now would be a good time to show a short clip. This will not only excite those who attended but will also encourage those who didn’t to consider attending next summer.
Briefly mention for a few weeks how blessed you were to see them go after more of God. Discuss how many of them were filled with a spiritual gift that gives us power to live for Christ and to be a witness, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Also affirm those who may not have yet received but felt the Holy Spirit’s presence or heard His voice speak to their heart. Mention how proud you are of those who were hungry to know God more personally, and that anytime we are drawing closer to Him is wonderful.
#2. Encourage: As you begin your worship time, make mention again of how proud you were of those who really went deep during the camp worship times. Encourage everyone to follow their example today as they enter into worship and learn to worship God with their whole heart. This should encourage those who attended to help lead the others into a time of meaningful worship.
As part of your worship and prayer time, instruct those who are filled to use their prayer language, while you lead them using your own gift of tongues. This doesn’t need to be a long portion of your service. But it is an opportunity for them to exercise their gift and for them to be reminded that this gift belongs to them and is to be used regularly, especially when they are not certain what to pray for.
Don’t forget to encourage those who have not yet been filled to ask God for this precious gift and make room each week for others to be filled.
#3. Inspire: With school starting up, now is the perfect time to Inspire your students by doing a teaching series on the Holy Spirit. Teaching them that the gift of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was given to Christ followers so they would have extra power to live for God in a way that would provide a testimony to those who don’t believe. That the Holy Spirit gives them the power to be a witness to those who are hurting, in need, or simply don’t yet believe.
Inspire them to seek more of the Holy Spirit and to be receive this spiritual gift that helps them be difference makers in their homes, neighborhoods and schools.
Some recommended resources would be:
1. Give each child who has been filled one of the new Baptism in the Holy Spirit - Now What for Kids brochures.
2. Use our new 4-week curriculum “Who is the Holy Spirit”.
3. Or our “Living in the Spirit” 8-week Kids curriculum.
Sessions include:
1. Who is the Holy Spirit?
2. What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
3. Why should I be baptized in the Holy Spirit?
4. What about speaking in tongues?
5. What is the fruit of the Spirit?
6. What are the gifts of the Spirit?
7. What about love and the gifts of the Spirit?
8. What does living in the Spirit look like?
