And the crowd chants “Encore, encore, encore” …
Early on in 2021, the WinShape Camps team decided to move forward with in-person camp motivated by the belief that kids were made for camp. Kids weren’t made for being stuck inside. Kids weren’t made for being alone. Kids certainly weren’t made to look at screens all day. More than ever, we knew kids NEED camp – and boy did it prove to be true this summer!
We heard over and over from parents that camp was exactly what their kids needed to take back the summer that felt lost in 2020.
Here’s what some parents had to say…
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I was #MadeForThis, you were #MadeForThis…
Over the last few months, we explored our theme “Made For This” as we dove into Ephesians 2:10 which says “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We talked about how, just like in the theater, everyone has a role to play on God’s grand stage and a purpose for their life.
Campers learned these truths over the course of their week:
- I am made to do good.
- I am made on purpose.
- I am made for love.
- I am made to belong.
- I am made for a bigger story.
We were honored to serve over 20,000 campers in 15 states. Over the course of 9 weeks, we had close to 1,500 campers make a decision about their relationship with Jesus. And there’s nothing else in this rewind that’s worth celebrating more than THAT! ✝️
Speaking of the theme this summer — as always, we had epic music written specifically for exploring our daily truths (not to mention some next-level choreography).
It wasn’t just campers having all the fun either! Our Summer Staff were glad to be back too!
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Families were engaged with us at camp and online more than ever this summer!
Check out our most popular Instagram post:
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Since safety was key to our success this summer, we were limiting parents from getting out of their car at our overnight camps. However, we didn’t want them to miss a chance to get to know their campers’ counselor so we made a last-minute pivot to do a 30-second intro video for close to TWO-HUNDRED AND FIFTY counselors. That’s almost 2 hours of intro videos! With the creation of these videos, we saw more parents using the WinShape Camps app than ever!
And if campers and staff having fun wasn’t enough, PARENTS also got in on the action with our first summer of WinShape Camps for Families!
A summer to remember
All-in-all, this summer was one for the record books. Yes, it looked different than normal, but God used it in spectacular ways to make a difference in thousands of lives. We’re forever grateful for parents, campers, and the Summer Staff who make up the WinShape Nation! While we may find ourselves in a time of rest, we’re already thinking about next summer! Registration for our 2022 overnight camps opens up on September 1st. On top of that, we’re excited to share our 2022 theme — More to Explore! We’re going to space y’all! 🚀