BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Beginning next summer, Passport Inc. will offer camps for children completing third through sixth grade under a new program called Passport Kids.
Developed as a partnership between the Birmingham-based Passport and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the kids camp will offer some of the same elements as Passport's well-known camps for teenagers but in an age-appropriate format.
“Passport Kids will integrate missions commitment with the fun and excitement of a children's camp,” said Mark McClintock, coordinator of Passport Kids camp. “We want to plant the seeds early in children's lives for a commitment to following Christ and to reaching out to people around the world.”
The idea surfaced several years ago when several children's ministers began clamoring for something more in a children's camp. About a dozen children's ministers were used as consultants in planning Passport Kids, according to McClintock, who was himself one of those ministers prior to leaving his position at Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.
“There has been a lot of contact with children's ministers to make sure what we're doing meets their needs,” McClintock said.
One of the differences between Passport camps and Passport Kids is the missions experience. While the teen camps feature offsite ministry projects, Passport Kids will offer missions projects at the camps.
The staff of 14 who will travel with the camp program next summer have been specifically recruited and trained to work with 8- to 12-year-olds, according to McClintock. Also offered are special activities to help sixth graders prepare for the teenage years.
“The 2004 theme is 'On the Edge,' featuring the Romany people group of Europe,” says Colleen Burroughs, executive vice president of Passport. In addition to regular activities such as swimming, canoeing, horseback riding, archery and a ropes course, campers will work on projects that support the ministry of missionaries who work with the Romany, or Gypsy, people and meet other missionaries from around the world. A worship service caps off each day.
“We want worship and Bible study to be well-integrated, so it is a holistic approach,” McClintock said.
The 2004 Passport Kids camps will be held in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri. The four-day camps run from mid-June through the end of July. Thirty-two churches have already pre-registered.
The Fellowship partnership is scheduled to last for two years.
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