Reaching children through an annual English-language camp may be one of the most-remembered fingerprints Alabama Baptist left in Spain. It is also a project that will continue.
Denia’s Kids Camp, a camp designed to teach Englis to community children, allows the Alpha Omega School to make numerous contacts, said Jorge Pastor, director of the school and pastor of Denia Baptist Church.
Started by Alabama Baptists, “it is a very good outreach to the families, not only to our (school) children that come but also other children, because they come from all over,” Pastor said.
The camp takes place for two weeks during the summer. Alabama Baptists will participate one more summer to fill the void Spain will have between partnerships. Spain and Texas are considering a partnership that would begin in 2001.
Scotty Goldman, associate in the campus ministries office at the State Board of Missions, headed the first group that went to Spain in 1997. He also headed the group that went in 1999.
The camp is designed to teach the children English, Goldman said.
“I train teachers to teach conversational English, and I knew the teachers going would need some type of training,” Goldman said. So, he worked toward finding people trained to teach.
The first year, with only a few weeks’ notice, he took four students and it went “OK, considering our prep time,” Goldman said. About 20 children attended the camp.
But then in 1998 and 1999, the team improved and the camp captured the attention of Professional teachers paired with college students, and a structure was established.
In 1999, a team of 13 went. The adults taught the class and the college students taught crafts. There were four trained teachers including one music teacher and one recreational leader.
It seemed to work much better, because the teachers are naturally structured and they had control on the kids, Goldman said, noting some of the school’s teachers were also around to help with discipline.
“We had a wide language approach to teaching,” Goldman said. “We taught English through crafts, activities, music and recreation.
“We also offered environments for the kids to practice their conversational skills,” he added.
During the last kids camp, about 70 children attended each of the two-week sessions, about 30 of them being repeats. “That was the most repeats they have ever had,” Goldman said.
The camp lasted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The team did street evangelism at night by making balloon animals, assign out tracts and putting up posters advertising the church.
“Our main reason for being there was to establish relationships with families who will hopefully go to the church or school and will have an opportunity to hear the gospel,” Goldman said. “We were planting seeds.
“We didn’t see the children come to Christ, but “our basic goal was that the kids had a good time and would associate that with Jorge as leader of the school and pastor of the church,” he said.
“I think the kids can associate the school with people who care about them. Hopefully, they will associate the school with the church,” he said.
There was also a major breakthrough with an influential family in the community, Goldman noted. Their child attended kids camp and had a great time. The family was so pleased that they were telling everyone about the camp and the school.
“It is evident that your teachers have the love of Jesus in them,” the father told Pastor.
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