Art & Jesus Camp
“I believe creativity is a gift woven into each of us — and that art has the power to nurture our faith, restore our spirits, and reconnect us to the beauty of God’s creation.”
Practice
Choose a craft that creates an invitation. Find an activity that is simple and interactive.
Start small. Do something as simple as hosting an art activity for kids on a front porch or driveway and provide coffee for parents.
Consider ways to scale. Hosting an annual arts camp is a way to build connection and collaboration with your neighborhood.
A place for kids to be creative in the summer can influence the outcome of their life and faith. It was the unique combination of creativity and compassion that Jazmin Lopez Geminiano experienced as a child that she would extend decades later for children through Art & Jesus Camp.
Jazmin came to the US from Mexico as she entered high school. She lived in the Barnum neighborhood, and during her first summer was encouraged by her mother to attend a Whiz Kids camp. It was the hospitality of Sue Herrera, a Spanish-speaking camp counselor from Taos, New Mexico, that would be one of the many people who would impact the trajectory of Jazmin’s life and faith. Sue invited Jazmin to help the Spanish-speaking children with the crafts. The summer camp is where Jazmin would develop the bravery to speak English aloud. It was also where Sue would share stories about Jesus at the end of each day. Jazmin participated in the summer camp, helping lead crafts alongside Sue every year until she went to college. It was through the encouragement of Sue and many others that Jazmin would go to college to earn a degree in art and graphic design.
Jazmin married Johnathan, and as her family grew, they became a part of Celebration Community Church. She built relationships with families in the Virginia Village neighborhood through the church’s community outreach programs, including Whiz Kids and MOPS (now Mom Co.). “Neighborhood presence is who we are,” shared Celebration’s Lead Pastor, Jill Jones. “The questions we ask are, ‘What does the neighborhood need? What does the neighborhood want?’” It is Celebration’s value of being incarnational and integrated into the neighborhood combined with Jazmin’s love for creative expression and compassion for children that became the Art & Jesus Camp.
Art & Jesus Camp is a week-long summer day camp for kids in Kindergarten through Middle School with a focus on different art mediums each year. The people of Celebration Community Church continue to host this low-cost camp each year to provide an invitational way for kids in the neighborhood to have a memorable summer experience. “Parents want their children to get out of the house in the summer, but many families can’t afford $600 to send their kids to a traditional summer camp,” shared Jazmin. Art & Jesus Camp provides connection and nutrition for more than 70 kids, many who have limited access to friends and food through the summer season. “We serve a lot of food!” shared Sarah Crippen, who now leads the Art & Jesus Camp. “We have a crew we call the ‘Grandmas in the Kitchen,’ and the kids absolutely love them!”
The creativity of the camp provides a way for kids from different cultural backgrounds to connect. Sarah shares, “Our people love dance and love art. It creates a place for kids to be creative, and they get both the freedom and the safe space to create and to be kids.” Jazmin adds with her infectious delight of creativity that “Everyone loves to leave with something they created to share with their family.”
Creating a place for kids to be creative during summer can have unknown influences in the lives of children and their families. For Jazmin, the arts were an entry into a story of belonging and belief. This summer, Art & Jesus Camp will continue to provide that creative space for children.
Thank you to Jazmin Lopez Geminiano, Jill Jones, and Sara Crippen for their contributions to this article and for Celebration Community Church’s creativity and care for the kids in their neighborhood.
