The annual week-long day camp hosted by three Shawville churches welcomed parents to its closing ceremony on Friday, where participants showed all they had learned. 

For 15 years, the Grace Community Bible Church, Bethel Pentecostal Church and New Hope Christian Fellowship Church have collaborated in running Shawville’s Vacation Bible School, with the camp rotating between churches each year. 

This year’s camp at the Grace Community Bible Church had 67 participants, as well as 24 junior leaders and another 24 parent volunteers. 

Each day, the kids moved through a variety of activities centered on the theme of the rainforest, most of which were designed to teach them something about God.

“Our goal is we want the kids to know that God is real, and this week specifically it was on the character of God, and that Jesus loves them,” explained Mary Hamilton, one of the camp’s organizers. 

“The jungle theme is a perfect example of creation. [We] would present a different animal from the rainforest each day which would then help them understand how God created camouflage, for example.”

Camp leaders taught the participants about various key Bible messages, such as “God is love, or God is forever,” according to Hamilton, and then encouraged campers to memorize certain verses that supported these themes. 

These verses were shared at the camp’s closing ceremony, along with some of the activities that had been presented throughout the week to help campers understand God’s character. 

“Whatever theme we do, it helps them focus and gives them a start for how we’re going to present who God is,” Hamilton said.