In the U.S. a concerning number of young adults are stepping away from church.

Kathy Miles wants to change this. Miles is the Associate Director of Preschool and Children’s Ministries for the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Generations Team. “We want to help children understand what it means to be a follower of Christ in every aspect of their lives.” 

While middle schoolers and high schoolers often have opportunities to leave their comfort zones and take part in mission trips, elementary-age children do not. This tension led to the concept of “Get Salty,” a hands-on, practical mission activity for campers on the last night of the annual KidSalt summer camp. 

Empowering Children

“We want to empower children with the ability to see and meet physical and spiritual needs in their communities — to love others as Jesus loves them,” Miles explained. “We call the last night of camp ‘Get Salty’ because we want to be salt and light to the world.”

KidSalt is a summer camp for third through fifth-grade children. Every year, KidSalt’s teaching content revolves around a central theme. This past year, the theme was finding life in Jesus. Throughout the week, campers learn about what it means to find life in Jesus. Then, on the last night of camp, they were welcomed with cheers, loud music, and high-fives into a large room for “Get Salty.”

“There were between 600 and 700 campers and staffers all in that room to accomplish one goal,” Miles shared. “It was so much fun.” Campers packed 3,000 bags for college students across South Carolina.

Partnering with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry

The 3,000 bags packed were called ‘Find Life’ bags, and after camp, they were given to Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) directors across the state. These directors and their teams handed out the ‘Find Life’ bags during the welcome week at their colleges, and the bags helped welcome students to their new schools and build relationships with BCM teams. On each bag, there was a QR code that could be scanned to learn more about Jesus and how to find and build a strong community during college.

For Miles, the ‘Find Life’ bags met two goals: teaching children that they can do practical missions at any age and reaching college students with the Gospel as they were beginning their collegiate journey. 

Changing Statistics

Miles and her team’s efforts are not without criticism. “A lot of times, people will say, ‘Kids won’t be able to do that. Wait until they’re older.’ But we teach kids that you can always do something, and you should first start with prayer. We want them to understand that they can influence what’s happening in their communities. When kids experience missions, it can change the trajectory of how they live their lives. The sooner we can expose children to those missions, the sooner we may see those statistics change.”