PEACE Trips, Main Event, Camp Expression of Daring Faith

Over the summer, Saddleback Kids (SK), High School Ministry (HSM), and Junior High Ministry (JHM) made a big impact in helping meet several of our Daring Faith Goals.

To “help take the Good News to the unreached tribes,” Saddleback Kids participated in three global PEACE trips to Rwanda, Manila, and Buenos Aires. In partnership with our international campuses, a 23-person team visited Saddleback Buenos Aires, and a 15-person team headed to Saddleback South Manila. This was in addition to a 10-person team that worked alongside seven different churches in Kigali and Ruhuha, Rwanda. Embodying PEACE, the three teams worked alongside the churches to provide whatever support they needed, including training on Saddleback Kids programs, tools for community outreach, and how to host a Purpose Driven Children’s Ministry conference.

“God moved in countless ways,” says Liza Gant, Saddleback Kids Minister. “These trips are especially impactful for building relationships since it’s always parent-child or even whole families going together. This alone speaks volumes to churches and communities, when they see mothers, fathers, and children sacrificing their time and money to travel thousands of miles to spread God’s love.”

SK PEACE trips expand the knowledge of PEACE from Saddleback regional campuses, to our international campuses and beyond. They also help encourage more families and ongoing leadership to be part of PEACE and facilitate what God is doing around the world to reach the unreached.

In an effort to “fill God’s house,” several of our campuses hosted the Main Event, Saddleback’s “VBS-style” summer program for kids.

Held the last week of July, the Main Event featured games, theater, music, stories and more. Between six of our regional campuses, over 1,800 kids and 832 leaders attended, and 129 gave their lives to Christ. Volunteers were given many opportunities to start conversations with young believers about building relationships with God.

To close out the Main Event, everyone was invited to Family Fun Night, an outdoor festival with bouncy houses, climbing walls, trampolines, photo booths, and more. There were countless stories of spiritual growth, including two special needs children who faced their fears.

According to event coordinator, Megan, “Before our teaching, we always have a few competitive games. There’s one boy who normally just watches, but the team captain asked if she could bring him up on stage for the game. That boy actually won for his team and the kids were proudly chanting his name.”

The second story involved a little girl in a wheelchair, who was afraid to go down the “big slide” on water day. But she found comfort in the arms of a team leader who carried her from her wheelchair, to the top of the slide to experience the joy of inclusion.

“They didn’t fear their limitations,” says Megan. “They knew no matter what their hindrances, they could participate and be accepted.”

The building of memories didn’t end with summer day events! In an effort to build a deeper connection with God and friends, 131 Saddleback Kids and 49 leaders headed to Alpine Summer Camp from July 11-15.

During early August, JHM went to Thousand Pines Christian Camp for their 19th year in a row. Once again, God did big things in the lives of the next generation of disciples.

To celebrate what God has done, JHM held baptisms and a BBQ at the Refinery after the 6 PM services on August 27 and 28. Also wrapping up the season was HSM, coming together on August 12 for a beach bonfire in Dana Point. Both were special times of sharing stories about how God had moved in so many lives over the summer.

It’s because of these exciting events, and dedicated leaders, that our church family is able to reach kids for Christ and fill God’s house—the “F” initiative of our Daring Faith goal. To learn more about SK, visit saddlebackkids.com. For HSM visit highschoolministry.com, and for JHM visit saddlebackjhm.com.