The Loop

Is it just another thing to put on the calendar for the summer? Is it worth the time and money invested? What will my students really get out of it? 

While the weather is just beginning to get warmer, the excitement around our summer in kStudents is already buzzing. As a team, we want to share that excitement with you and in the process, answer some of these questions and more. 

What is Summer Experience? 

Every summer we desire to offer amazing experiences for our 5th-12th grade students. We want to get them out of their normal and focus on experiencing Jesus to the fullest. This year's experiences include two weeks of camp for our middle school students, a week of CIY for our high school students, and a local outreach trip opportunity for our high school students. Check out our Summer Experience page for the specifics. 

Is it worth it? 

We are faced with all sorts of challenges as we build our time away, but inevitably, our Summer Experiences become some of the most pivotal events we do all year. Let’s take a look at why it matters. We know that numbers are not the end-all, be-all, but let’s look at them for a moment in relation to time. In one week of camp, we get more intentional time with your student than we get in an entire year of student ministry; one week at 15-17 hours a day equals a minimum of 75 hours. After holidays off, we get roughly 48 weekends a year of kStudents programming. That’s only 48 hours with your student. We get almost double the relational time to make connections and that’s if your family makes it to every Sunday service in a calendar year. 

Storytime! 

From Christian Crampton, our high school pastor, "Last year, for our high school students’ week at CIY, the first major event for our ministry since Covid, we took 32 students and eight leaders. On the first night, one of our leaders prayed that God would wreck them. Over the course of the week, we had 26 students rededicate their lives to Christ, two students making a first-time decision to follow Jesus, and eight students express a call to vocational ministry. Once we returned, we had four baptisms as a direct result of the trip and multiple students began serving in different areas of the church. We experienced Jesus as a group in one of the most powerful weeks I’ve ever had in my time in student ministry. God continues to move in their lives and it’s exciting!" 

What will my student really get out of it? 

Connection. Community. Growth. Depth. Challenge. That’s what they will get. But, more importantly, at the foundation of each of those—Jesus. Your student will have the opportunity to experience Jesus in a powerful way. 

A Challenge 

As a parent, it’s hard to push your kiddos. You are often facing a student who is comfortable living their life as it is and these experiences push them outside of that comfort. As a student ministry team, here is our challenge, encourage your students to go. Think for a moment, where would you be in your life if no one nudged you to get out and experience new things? It can be easy for those students who naturally are driven to these experiences. For some, that isn’t the case. Yes, camp or CIY can be exhausting and challenging, but there’s growth in that. Our students have the opportunity to lean into something that they aren’t always comfortable with, but in an environment that fosters community, a little bit of crazy, and a whole lot of fun!  

A New Opportunity 

At the end of the summer, our high school ministry is teaming up with one of our local partners, Shepherd Community Center. We have an opportunity for our students to love and serve those in our own backyard with a local outreach trip. A big focus of CIY each year is equipping students for Kingdom work. We are excited to offer a very tangible way for our students to put into practice the things they experienced and learned at CIY. 

The Details 

Information for each experience, including links to register, can be found here on our website. Registration is currently open for both camps and CIY. More information on the high school local outreach trip will be available soon. 

At the heart of all we do in kStudents is this desire to see our students experience Jesus and expand the Kingdom. Summer Experience is a big part of that! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the team. We’d love to connect.  

Who’s ready for summer?  

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