Bemidji Area Churches Bring Power Up Camp To Kids

Evangelical Free Church of Bemidji and the Covenant Church partnered up to bring a modern vacation bible school to the community.

Power Up Camp is all about bringing churches together and kids into faith with Christianity. Throughout the four-day camp, campers attended bible lessons, played games and did crafts. The theme around the camp is retro video games, and displays of Pac-Man, Mario and Space Invaders could be found throughout the church.

“When you power up in these computer games, you gain more points, and you gain more power or special abilities. [It’s] the same way with powering up with Jesus Christ, as we get to know God because He wants us to know Him,” Darla Haseltine, the Bemidji Covenant Church Children’s Director, said.

Over 100 kids attended the camp each night. The idea to combine the two churches has been in talks for five years. The concept is to bring the north and the south side of Bemidji together for kingdom work. Gerri Thorsgard, the Kids Ministry Director at Evangelical Free Church, says the goal of the camp is to teach the gospel.

“Kids will be comfortable in church, families will be comfortable in church, and really that’s the point, we want out our community to realize that churches are a great place for kids, a great place for their families,” Thorsgard said.

Both church directors say they hope to continue the camp next year.