C.A.M.P. Songs

I'm not a big camper.  Not that I don't like camping, I just haven't done it much.  At least not the sleep-in-a-tent-cook-on-a-campfire-don't-shower-for-days kind of camping.  However, C.A.M.P.ing, I love.  

Next week I'll be C.A.M.P.ing with some amazing kids.  Three years ago I started the Creative Academy and Missions for the Performing Arts.  It's three hours a day for one week, teaching kids songs and choreography, learning drama sketches, doing art projects, and encouraging them to see the reasons why God made them creative.  It is a crazy amount of work but all of that is far outweighed by the fun and the joy of seeing kids do their thing.  

Today, I've been working on C.A.M.P. details and listening over and over to the songs we'll be using.  All of the songs I use in the camp are either ones I've had a hand in writing or songs written by good friends who I trust and admire their work.  One of the things I am committed to in regards to writing kids music is to pack the songs full of truth; to not be afraid of using language that has weight and significance which might require  the kids to dig a little deeper into theology than what they've been used to.  

As I've listened today, I have become very thankful for the writers who have contributed to these C.A.M.P. songs.  These writers are people I care about.  People who love God and love people and love writing about both.  None of them are rolling in royalties because of the songs they write, and certainly not because of the kid's music they write, but they do it anyway.  They do it because equipping kids to sing about things that matter is important.  And I am very grateful they do it so well.