Last week, Valley First Baptist held a Kid’s Camp, a different approach to the traditional Vacation Bible School so many grew up attending.

We all remember how they went. The kids would go to a church and be separated by age group. Then each group would have classes throughout the evening: bible study, music, arts & crafts, snack time, gym, etc. It would go on throughout the week and culminate with a big presentation in front of the church.

To be sure, this varied from church to church but most kids in the South attended a variation.

That’s why seeing Valley First Baptist do something different is so refreshing. Instead of a week, the children spent two nights attending three-hour sessions filled with activities, all connected by the theme: “The Roman Road to Salvation.”

A benefit from this is the fact that over 120 kids registered for the first night.

For some kids, Vacation Bible School is the only way they can keep up with friends during the summer months. For others, it’s the only time they get to meet new people their age outside of the school year.

It’s also good to see an institution trying something new. For many, especially churches, doing anything new is never easy. Breaking tradition and doing something that is untested is so outside the norm for many groups that the idea itself is a novel one.

So congratulations to Valley First Baptist for trying something out. Hopefully it exceeded your expectations.