First Christian Church hadn’t done a traditional vacation Bible school in a few years.

So, the Rev. Jerry Johns encouraged Shawna Mitchell, director of children’s ministries at the church, to consider adding VBS to her 2019 summer plans.

But a traditional VBS isn’t what First Christian Church got. Instead, a more inclusive and kindness-centered version began to take shape.

“The more I got to praying about it and thinking about it, and working with (Brittin Diguette), my daughter working with Special Olympics and STRIDE events, I realized it might be nice to have one that focuses on inclusion,” Mitchell said.

Last year, STRIDE Director Brittin Diguette and Mitchell planned a tie-dye event. They invited STRIDE members, and it was successful. So Mitchell said the idea for an inclusive VBS spun from that opportunity to collaborate and continue the message of kindness.

After a full year of planning, First Christian Church and STRIDE Kids are hosting a sensory-friendly VBS: Camp Kindness.

Johns said giving the camp the go-ahead was a no-brainer.

“My job is to say yes to every good mission opportunity that comes up,” he said.

Lights, sounds and decorations are sensitive to various sensory needs.

“I like the idea that it’s sensory sensitive,” Johns said. “And I’m excited beyond belief because it takes traditional vacation Bible school and turns it on its ear.”

Camp Kindness runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at First Christian Church, 24 E. Hickman St. The camp is free and open to the public. It’s for families of children ages 3 to 13.

Johns said, as the pastor of the congregation, he hopes Camp Kindness is another step to building meaningful relationships within the community.

“(The camp is) building a relationship in our community with a population that often gets shoved to the margins,” Johns said. “The Gospel calls us to work in the margin.”

Johns said he’s also particularly excited — and scared — about the camp because of the opportunity for personal growth within himself.

“I struggle with being around people with disabilities,” Johns said. “… And I’m looking forward to (the camp) because I’m going to grow from it. And I know that when I open myself up on Saturday morning, and I open myself to the experience that it’s going to be significant for me.”

Mitchell said she learned more about sensory needs and inclusion while planning the camp.

“I had wanted to teach several songs like camping and other songs, and (Diguette) said, there’s a lot of singing here,” Mitchell said. “And so we pared it down to just a few songs and made them more transitional singalongs.”

Mitchell said she’s taken that new information and used it to plan other parts of the day, ensuring she included everyone’s needs. 

“Sometimes when you have rotational groups, even at school, where I might have 20 minutes rotate… sometimes the child might want to do the chalk station the whole time, and that’s OK,” Mitchell said.

The camp is the first of its kind, Mitchell said. Throughout the day, campers will participate in crafts, games, inclusive hula-hooping and more teamwork activities.

Mitchell said she is especially looking forward to one segment of the day: Kindness in Chalk. The activity stems from a movement that started in 2015 to spread awareness about National Bullying Prevention Month.

“At the local level, we’re going to put kindness on the sidewalk out in front,” Mitchell said.

The camp also includes a light lunch and a snack. Mitchell said there’s a crew of more than 30 adults and teenagers volunteering for the camp, and they will undergo an inclusiveness training before the start of the camp.

“I just like the idea that we’re not leaving anybody out,” Diguette said. “Everybody gets to come and join.”

Mitchell said the idea of inclusion is something she’s tried to include in her other programs such as the Friends Day Out program. Mitchell organizes Friends Day Out once a week during the summer for church members to convene and get out into the community.

“Ours is intergenerational, inclusive,” Mitchell said. “Bring a friend. Bring your grandma.”

Mitchell said she gravitates toward intergenerational and inclusive activities and events are because that’s the message she wants to send to her children — biological, at the church and school.

And Diguette said she appreciates that effort.

“As A STRIDE person, the idea of being included in something in the community, not just visiting and leaving… it’s pretty cool,” she said.

Johns said he looks forward to seeing how “Camp Kindness” and the relationship between STRIDE and First Christian continues to evolve in the future.

Call 859-744-3181 to register or register at the door. Mitchell said the camp is not a drop-off camp, so she invited families to stick around and learn how kindness and inclusion go hand-in-hand.

“(The camp) encourages kindness at all age levels,” Mitchell said.

Johns agreed.

“In a world where we have a kindness deficit, come and be a part of something that invites you to have a kindness surplus,” he said.