NEWS, Uncategorized

UpStreet on the Move: Camp95

Take 10 teenagers, 3 college students, 75 kids, and 4 host homes all over town. Add UpStreet-style storytelling about God’s love, great music, and lots of water fun. Mix it together, and you have an amazing week of summer called Camp95.

The goal of Camp 95 was to bring “all the fun of UpStreet to your street,” and for three days in four different neighborhoods around Jacksonville, the Camp95 student leadership team did just that. “The highlight of the week for me was seeing the kids have such a great time,” student leader Brennan Robles said.

From the moment kids arrived at the Camp95 host home, the fun was non-stop. Students led kids in singing and dancing to UpStreet songs and kept each other cool and wet with wacky water games. Every day the  students used skits and stories told in fun ways to engage kids with the good news of God’s love. “It was great to see kids who wouldn’t let go of their parent when they arrived for the first time not want to leave when it was over,” student leader Chase Barrett said.

In the weeks leading up to Camp95, Access attenders invited kids to the host home nearest them, and when word spread about the fun after the first day, more kids came the next. “It was a fun way to give to the community and build relationships with kids you wouldn’t normally be able to reach,” student leader Carly Barrett said.

Throughout the week, kids were invited to bring their parents to Summerfest at Access Church on the Sunday following Camp95  to experience the irresistible environments that Access offers every week for the whole family.

Thanks to the hosts who opened their homes, the student leaders who went all out with their energy for the kids, and all the Access attenders who leveraged relationships and their finances to help make it happen, Camp95 was a big “win.” “So many great things happened every day,” said Hope Henry, the mom of a camper.

David Spry, an Access attender, said, “I don’t think we can even imagine how God will continue to use the positive impact that Camp 95 has made on everyone involved.”

The student leaders and the campers are already looking forward to Camp95 2018! Lead pastor Rich Barrett said, “We’ll definitely be doing this again!”