Compassion Camp: Changing the World with Lovingkindness

Haven't even looked at it yet, but i know it's probably awesome. This CC is the only one we haven't used. Hope more is coming out soon!

Good material, needs adaptation
Compassion Camp was the perfect material for us to use as we transitioned out of COVID-friendly VBS to a more regular approach. As the material is designed for multipurpose use, we had to adapt quite a few of the activities and songs to fit our needs. We were able to shape the material to fit our more traditional VBS structure with four groups of kids ages 4-11 who rotated through each activity throughout the day.

We were blessed to be able to play the music ourselves on guitar and piano and were able to “hype-up” the songs enough to keep the kids engaged. The songs lend themselves to very fun actions and we added a few extra contemporary worship songs for variety. The kids loved the music and had a blast during our opening and closing sessions.

The skits will be challenging for many churches. They require many actors, props, costumes, and rehearsals which is not always practical. We ended up writing our own, much simpler skits.

All the kids were interested and involved throughout the camp and rarely lost interest in their activities. Compassion Camp provides enough material for a 3-4-hour camp and the material is easy to change to your needs. We adapted a few crafts depending on the age group and completely replaced other crafts. Kids have a lot of energy and a lot of the material has the kids sitting down so we changed the movement station to be an exercise/stretching/breathing station instead.

Good material, but it needed a lot of adapting to make it work for us.

Perfect VBS for Backyard/Home and Virtual Ministry
We have used both Compassion Camp programs for backyard VBS and also for virtual home ministry. The materials that the company provides are so relevant and also easy to work with. The program leaves space for churches to costumize and deliver in various ways. This is one of the best on the market right now in my opinion.

VBS 2021
We used Compassion Camp: Lovingkindness in the summer of 2021. We managed to do family groups and some of our classes were outside. All seemed to enjoy it, even though the ages were from 4K thru 6th grade. We had plenty of material and probably used about 1/2 of what we received. That was nice as it gave us adaptability.

Fantastic Program
This program was so thoughtfully done, theologically excellent, and a blessing during a time when it was needed. It offered a wide range of activities and did a beautiful job of connecting with kids, families, and volunteers. I was so grateful for it during a time when the church has been overwhelmed with the pandemic and reimagining ministry.

Fantastic Curriculum!
We absolutely loved Compassion Camp and Compassion Camp: Changing the World with LovingKindness curriculum. We were able to use it virtually as well as in-person and it was a game changer. Plenty of activities, suggestions, and creative lessons. We can't wait to see what Illustrated Ministry comes out with next!

Compassion Camp
I used the Changing the World with Lovingkindness Compassion camp theme last summer for our VBS camp . I found the curriculum very easy to use and felt the theme was exactly what we needed having just come out of a tough quarantine time from the pandemic. There was a ton of information provided to pick and choose from that allowed the flexibility to adjust as needed to fit our church camp . I would highly recommend it to other christian educators . I plan on using the Be Loved . Be Kind . Be You . Curriculum this summer.

A Quality VBS Program
We used the Compassion Camp: Changing your World with Lovingkindness for our VBS this past 2021 year. Things I really liked about the program:
1. It is written to have stations that each age group rotates around until they do everything. This is the model we have used at my church for ??? It made it easily adaptable and I didn't have to work so hard to make it "fit".

2. I have always been pleased with the well balanced nature of content Illustrated Ministry puts out. This program continues that tradition. A quality message of justice for the world that first comes out of relationship with God and care of oneself.

3. There was SO much content. We actually didn't use it all because there was just so much. As I begin to think about planning VBS for 2022, I've wondered if we could repeat but incorporate all the things we left out.

4. Loved the incorporation of yoga for each lesson.

It's hard to find something I didn't like. If anything, perhaps too much coloring? Especially when everything is geared to be outside/being outside is safer in covid terms. Coloring and being outside presents it's own obstacles. We came up with solutions, but it was a challenge.

I would highly recommend this program.

Compassion Camp: Changing the World with Lovingkindness
We've enjoyed using Compassion Camp curriculum for the last 2 years! We've adapted it to use as our theme for the entire congregation and put packets together for families of all sizes to use in ways that work for them. We'd love to see more worship materials and books that go with the theme but that's because we like to use this as a resource to build on and it would save me time. I've recommended this to a variety of folks, from church leaders to parents, and they have all thanked me for introducing them to Illustrated Ministry!

Compassion Camp: Changing the World (year 2)
This was our second year of offering Compassion Camp at our church. We use this every other week, spread out through the summer as a semi-regular Faith Formation happening. The children really enjoyed it an there is a ton of great materials. We set this up as a 1 hour gathering each time, which was the only issue we had. All of the material each session is great, so you really want to give yourself at least 1.5-2 hours each session. It's hard to pick and chose to make it shorter. We just LOVE how it has different activities for the different styles of learning.
As Covid is still going, I love that this is an easy activity that my colleague and I can easily lead with minimal prep, while we do our regular day-to-day work as well. Thanks to IM for greating this awesome summer alternative!

Great content but needs more
At North Shore UMC we have done the Compassion Camp VBS in 2020 and 2021. I loved the progressive content, the focus on compassion, and the Bible stories. The kids responded well to yoga and the various activities. The only area where we had negative feedback was in the area of music.
The songs were not lively enough to engage the children and having just one adult on the video did not keep the kids attention. I would suggest livelier songs with kids and adults singing them along with actions and dances to get kids moving.

Great VBS
Our church loves this VBS. It has a great message, organized well, fun songs, utilizes youtube videos and a helpful chat group of other users, games are good and more! Worth getting.

Thoughtful. Complete. AMAZING!!
In the height of the pandemic it seemed impossible to even think about doing VBS- logistical nightmare, covid burn out, all the things stacked against me. And then like an angel sent from above I get the email announcing that I.M would be releasing “Compassion Camp”. It saved me! I had NO volunteers and no idea how to do things virtual! I loved that CC addressed what was happening in the world (pandemic BLM ect) and I LOOOVED the extra reading resources. So this year, knowing VBS would be my first week back from maternity leave I knew that I could count on the thoughtfulness and completion of this curriculum. We had another great year and hope that this a regular occurrence!!! Love being able to use it!

Excellent Program!
2021 was the first time in many years that my church ran a summer program. Our program was primarily geared for preschool children age 3-5, but we did have some older children up to around age 12 or 13. Compassion Camp was such a huge hit an the wonderful flexibility of the program allowed us to tailor it to fit the needs of our children specifically. We loved it and look forward to running a similar program this summer. Thank you, Illustrated Ministry, for such great products and programs!

IM never fails
Illustrated Ministry has been our salvation through the pandemic-- and beyond! The lessons are theologically sound, and designed with the children in mind. My teachers love being able to simply teach, and not have to spend hours developing the lessons. They add their own flair to what is already created. We have continued with other IM products because of this affordable, excellently produced product. Thank you!

Great VBS without the gimmicks
I’ve been leery of VBS’ with these gimmicky themes. This is not that kind of VBS! It’s authentic and real and reachable to all ages. I just love the overall theme of teaching kids to love others, their world, and most importantly - themselves! We did this one in-person in the summer of 2020 and I loved the yoga, story options (the book for preschoolers was great!), and games. We loved most of the crafts (we deviated a few times) and the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I would really have loved a science component. Several of the kids in our VBS have ADHD and more sensory seeking needs. They are also super curious about the world around them. I wrote my own in, but otherwise it was a great curriculum with so much of the work done for me!

5 Stars for Adaptability & Content
We purchased this product knowing that we might have to do VBS in a much different way this year. Little did we know it would be MUCH different. In the end we adapted it into a worship series for Sunday mornings. This gave a much needed break to our parents and volunteers. Worshipers of all ages learned the stories and songs together. It was great to see everyone participate in such an embodied way.

The curriculum provided plenty of valuable material for sermons, prayers, and social media updates. Some of the songs are quickly becoming a regular part of or music rotation.
Thank you for providing a wonderful resource when so many of us are running thin on imagination.

Illustrated Ministry is a great ministry partner!

Good theology, easy to use and adapt
I purchased 'Compassion Camp: Changing the World Through Loving Kindness' not knowing how I would use it this year. We were able to venture out a little bit, but couldn't have a traditional VBS. (I am trying to move away from that traditional model anyway.) So, I had families gather outside, and I picked some parts of the curriculum for the family units to do together (each family on their own). The activities were easy enough for them to do, yet also fun and creative. The supplies were also easy to provide. I will use other parts of it in the future for other events when we can finally gather together again! Also, I love the music, though haven't really had much chance to use it yet. The music has a positive, inclusive, and progressive theology, teaching that God is love and God loves everyone and we should do the same. However, be aware it is not like traditional VBS music! (much more calm and not hyper...)

Whole-bodied, Engaging Lessons
We were looking for a curriculum that'd engage our younger disciples' whole bodies. With the previous school year being mostly virtual, we wanted to offer 'hands-on' learning and engaging the bible stories. We were also ready to jump off the "craft of the week" train & utilize even more activity-based learning. Compassion Camp checked all the boxes & its theme is incredibly well-timed. We loved the variety of activity suggestions offered & followed them as instructed, put our own twist on it, and/or used the suggestions as a springboard for our own ideas. We used the 5-day curriculum as 10 weeks Sun School lessons. We appreciated how each theme and story was given 2 Sundays which allowed for kids to re-hear it and even engage deeper. There were more than enough activity suggestions to fill 2 Sundays/lesson! A truly fun & excellent curriculum for any setting!

Easy to use, very well put together
I trust Illustrated Ministry to present a justice-oriented, child-friendly theology, and Compassion Camp is the epitome of why I use their resources. The Bible story booklets and takeaways for the lovingkindness edition are so well-written, and they are messages I want embodied in our ministry.

For us, the intros and skits were longer than were practical, but it just meant we had more material to work with than we needed, and they were easy to trim down.

The lovingkindness and yoga practices are easy for leaders to implement and great for families to carry home for future uses. The songs are amazing. They always get stuck in my head and can easily be used in a variety of settings after Compassion Camp.

The movement and creative elements of the curriculum might not be a good fit for every community, but the supportive online community built around this curriculum is an incredible resource that will help you fill any gaps. The ideas and support from the Facebook group are a big part of why we purchased both editions of Compassion Camp. The appendix also has a rich list of resources for adapting and using the Compassion Camp themes with youth, adults, and more.

I truly believe this curriculum could be used in almost any setting, and this is the type of product I want to spend my ministry budget on.

Great resource!
We used this curriculum last summer and it was a huge gift! There is more than enough materials for an in-person, virtual, or hybrid camp. Our church had an in-person option as well as at- home kits, and a few virtual components. This was the first in-person camp we did in 2 years and I felt it was crucial that those planning and volunteering felt prepared enough before camp so they could really be present with the children. This curriculum helped us to achieve that and I am grateful! We will be purchases the Compassion Camp from 2020 to use this summer because of how pleased we were. If you haven't bought this curriculum you really should! I highly recommend!

VBS That Actually Means Something
This curriculum was exactly what we needed for a summer emerging from a pandemic lock-down. It was easy to adjust as needed for small or large groups. The kids responded positively to every aspect of the curriculum - drama, yoga, songs, activities, and stories. I also heard lots of positive feedback from parents about the pacing, content, and how much their kids were enjoying it. I love that I can trust Illustrated Ministry and the curriculum writers of Compassion Camp to offer a grace-centered, theologically sound VBS that actually means something for our kids and families.

Great Stuff
I am a Children and Youth director at an Episcopal church with around 20-30 families. Over the past two summers, I have looked for creative ways to offer high-quality content that is also easy-to-use, and Illusatred Ministry has always done that. This curriculum was easily adapted to be a virtual VBS (which I ended up doing in 2020 and 2021). I will 100% be buying content from Illusatered Ministries again.