The Power of Local Sports Camps

Community of Grace Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, will be holding sports camp for the third consecutive year this summer. Prior to holding its first camp, Community of Grace had been looking for ways to better reach out to the community when they were approached by FCA with the possibility of holding a summer mini sports camp. Because FCA sports camp would give them greater capacity to bring in students from outside their walls, it was a clear choice. Since then, the incredible community feedback keeps them hosting sports camp each year.

Campers love the fun they have at camp while they learn about Jesus. Camp is just the right balance of active fun and conversations about what it means to follow Christ. Many campers come full of excitement, but not everyone is excited when they first arrive. Instead, some are hesitant to come because they don’t know what it is all about. Time and time again, once these campers experience camp, they can’t wait to come back and are often disappointed when camp ends. 

One girl had been extremely apprehensive about attending camp because she knew it was a sports camp and was not confident in her athletic ability. She ended up absolutely loving camp because she could try sports and active activities in a nonthreatening environment. 

Another boy loved the variety of sports and the fact that kids of all abilities could play. While he had lacked the confidence before camp to participate in school sports, his week at camp gave him the strength he needed to try a new sport at school. He cannot wait to come back to sports camp this year to continue to grow in his walk with God and learn new skills that he can use throughout the year. 

The high school huddle leaders have an especially great impact on the campers. These leaders love sports and Jesus and want to serve younger campers. They are great mentors and role models and bring an energy to camp that gets the campers excited for the week. Both huddle leaders and campers enjoy the relationships built during the week of camp, and it not only makes a lasting impact on the campers, but the huddle leaders often return year after year because they love seeing campers transform throughout the week of camp.

This year’s camp theme is “100%” and is based on Mark 12:30 which says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Campers will learn what it means to fully serve God with all of their lives. They will be challenged to surrender all of their lives to Jesus, not just certain parts of themselves. This year, we believe camp will make an especially big impact because students are even more ready to come together with other kids and have fun.

Local sports camps have the potential to impact hundreds of students each year with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Fellowship of Christian Athletes is excited to partner with local churches in 2020 to offer these weekly mini sports camps during the summer. These local sports camps are similar to VBS for older elementary students but include a sports component. Sports camps are a great way for FCA to come alongside and bless these churches whose missions are to reach their communities for Christ.

Camp generally runs from 9:00 am – 12 pm each day for students entering Grades 3-6. Campers spend the week playing active games and learning to grow in Jesus. 

While all June sports camps have been canceled for the summer of 2020, July and August camps are still scheduled. Community of Grace Church in White Bear Lake plans to hold sports camp July 20-23. Click Here to register!