This year marks the 12th year of Camp Skillz, a summer camp for kids aged 6-11 in the greater Nashville area. This summer, we’ll have around 80 campers participating in our program. Camp Skillz’ mission is to provide a fun environment where kids acquire new skills, make friends, and feel valued for who they are. Our camp provides this environment by intentionally weaving in biblical values and themes into all of the programming that we do.
This year, our camp themes reflect the biblical themes and values taught at the Academy for G.O.D., the K-12 school that many of our campers attend. Week 1 emphasizes the value of being a creative being. Campers will learn how to be Problem Solvers ("See a need, meet a need"), Readily Resourceful (Creatively bringing people and resources together), and Chaos Tamers (Using our words to build and create good things). We see the creativeness of God in Genesis 1:3 when he is creating the world, environment, and animals and humans within it.
In Week 2, campers will focus on the theme "Agents of Change." They will learn values such as empathy, compassion, and the importance of getting things done. In Week 3, campers will focus on the theme "Responsible Neighbors." During this week, they will learn associated values of proactiveness, ownership, and initiation. Lastly, in the 4th week of camp, we will focus on the importance of being "Globally Conscious." During this week, campers will learn values such as perspective taking, bravery, and flexibility.
The Bible teaches the importance of investing into the next generation and part of that investment is people development through education. Two versus come to mind specifically regarding the importance of education of children, specifically an education that teaches biblical values:
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.Deuteronomy 6:5-9 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words that I give you today. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. Write them down, and tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
In addition to our lead camp staff, we have WorkWell youth workers participating in the facilitation of our camp. WorkWell is a program that provides a first job experience to young people in the Nashville area. We are so excited and thankful for the opportunity that we have to guide the WorkWell youth in facilitating activities for a variety of ages of children and being able to model effective and fun ways to do so.
Summer is a pivotal time for kids to continue to receive intentional investment into them, so as not to lose the momentum from the school year. From the character values they will learn to the life lessons that come from our activities and interacting with their peers, Camp Skillz provides an intentional program for its campers. There is no educational gap between one school year to the next, but rather kids will receive continued investment into God's Word. We want to keep these values on the forefront of their minds and are excited that Camp Skillz gets to be the venue to do so, all while making sure they have the time of their lives!