Imagine that you are
... 8 years old and you have never been to church before, you have never read a Bible or heard the name of Jesus, you’ve never been prayed for nor have you ever prayed over a meal. You are just a kid who has been in 8 homes and 10 schools, you have lost your family and you have no friends - you are trying to survive in life. Every night you fall asleep wondering why these painful events have happened to you. One day you find yourself on a bus full of unknown kids, you wind up in an unknown place, surrounded by a bunch of unknown adults who appear to be very nice but want to share with you in a matter of days terminology and beliefs that has taken them years to fully understand.
This is the perspective
... of many of the children we serve at camp. RFKC presents stories, verses, and music from the Bible in our large group gatherings, is staffed by Christians, and sponsored by a local church.
So... how is this different than any other church summer camp? Great question.
As a faith-based organization, RFKC Ames cooperates with Social Services to support their care and safety of the children. We appreciate deeply what these civil servants are doing and want our efforts to only add to the mix. That trusted partnership relies on an approach that presents our faith as a great hope for children but without any hint of coercion or manipulation. We do not present or participate in church sacraments during camp. We do not ask the children to respond in an act of dedication of faith. We do believe that God has great plans for them, and eagerly await child-initiated opportunities to share how much God has done for us.
Most children in this age group and category desire to please the adults they respect. It can be seen as an abuse of their trust if we ask them to make a personal decision as part of a large group. And we know that some of the children we serve have come from a “religious” and yet abusive home life, which further complicates the issues.
Magnifying these challenges (even innocently) is the furthest thing from our hearts.
So, when a camper asks about the Bible story or theme for the week ("Joseph... yeah he had some family problems"), we'll tell them what it means to us. In teachable moments when a camper is frustrated or sad: when they ask, we'll share about how God's peace and love has changed our lives. When they're having the best time of their lives, we hope they see that not everything they've experienced so far... is everything there is.