ENGLISH BIBLE CAMP "English for Kids"—Summer 2008

Intended Audience/Function

The English Bible Camp aims to teach the Gospel truth by meeting the interest of French-speaking children to learn English proficiently at a younger age. The camp is intended for non-believing families in the larger St-Marc Church neighborhood with children between the ages of 5 and 11. Participants will be required to register ahead of time and pay a registration fee to encourage commitment and regular participation.

A French-speaking coordinator (either a member of St-Marc's or a missionary associate of the OPC) will act as a link between English-speaking volunteers and French-speaking children and their parents. This person will also act as a co-coordinator with the volunteers, and will assure that material to be sent home with the kids is properly translated into French. Members of St-Marc's, in conjunction with the pastor and the coordinator, will do follow-up.

Time Frame

For the summer of 2008, the Bible camp will be offered during the following three weeks:

• Week of June 30-July 4—reserved by Covenant OPC, Barre, Vermont
• July 7-11
• July 14-18—reserved by Oakland Hills Community OPC, Michigan, in partnership with a second mission group

English for Kids is a whole-day camp (9 AM to 4 PM) to which the kids bring a sack lunch. The final day of the camp will end with a show to which parents, family members and friends will be invited. Members of St-Marc's will also attend in order to create connections for the follow-up ministry.

Teaching Materials

This year, we invite all mission groups to bring their own camp material and curriculum. If you have a Vacation Bible School curriculum your church has used in previous years, consider adapting it to a program designed to teach English as a second language. Once a church mission group has committed itself to conducting an English Bible Camp, the French-speaking coordinator will discuss in greater detail how to adapt such a program. We also request that each group submit their program 6-8 weeks before coming to run the camp. The camp coordinator will review the program and send back comments for improvement.

Costs/Housing

Costs for volunteer participants include housing, food, transportation to and from Quebec City, as well as in and around the city, the rental of the church facility ($400 per week), camp material and publicity (though a considerable part of these fees are covered by children's registration fees). For more details on costs and housing options, please see costs and housing options as listed for the English Café.

Please note that the congregation of St-Marc's is small and not yet financially independent, and so cannot absorb the costs of the English Bible Camp into its budget. We're delighted and encouraged by the support of sister churches and their participation in efforts to reach out to our community in ways we would be unable to support by ourselves!

NOTE: A printable copy of the "Application for Québec Short-Term Mission Program" is available by clicking here.