Discipling young lives through Square One camp
“I learned I don't have to be perfect before Jesus loves me.”
This quote, from a young boy who attended a Square One camp, is proof that sometimes things just click into place for the kids who attend.
Youthworks Square One is a weekend camp for children in Years 3 - 6 and their church leaders. We spoke with two leaders, Robyn and Pippie, about their Square One experience.
Robyn Glindemann is a member of Blackheath Anglican church, where she runs a weekly church kids club. She has been taking a group of kids and their leaders to Square One since 2019. The group is made up of combined Christian churches from across the Blue Mountains, from Lithgow to Lawson.
Pippie Krebs is the Kids & Youth Minister at St Stephen’s Willoughby, and since 2022 she’s been bringing a group of kids to this camp from her church. Last year, she even had a girl from her SRE class attend Square One, after the local public school gave her permission to hand out camp flyers during SRE classes.
Here are four reasons why Robyn and Pippie think every church should put Square One in their events calendar:
1. Intentional time for discipleship
Robyn says, “One of the really great things about Square One is that Youthworks has done the bulk of the organising and planning. So as a coordinator, I don’t have to think about getting permission forms signed and requesting payment – that’s all handled by Youthworks. It frees me up to consider the most suitable small group for each child so that they'll feel comfortable to share and ask questions and pray.”
2. Strengthening connections with both young people and their families
Square One camp provides many opportunities for youth leaders to interact not only with the kids they minister to, but also with their parents. One camper, who went along to camp for the first time, is from a non-church-going family. Robyn says, “Her mum told me afterwards that her daughter’s favourite part must be the singing because she's taught her brothers the song and now they're all singing it!” Through catchy, memorable songs learnt on camp, God’s word is going back into children’s homes.
Pippie appreciates the opportunity to invest in relationships over the weekend camp. She says, “The kids just have the best time. Attending camp each year really does fuel our kids ministry program. The kids come back so excited and on fire for Jesus.”
3. Deepening relationships with each other and with God
A key part of the weekend camp is the small group time the kids have with their regular church leaders. Robyn says, “I asked my group if they could each tell me something they’d learnt on camp about Jesus. One boy, who’s from a church family, said ‘I'd like to go first. I learned I don't have to be perfect before Jesus loves me.’”
Pippie says, “Over those two days you see a side of kids that you don't necessarily get the chance to see during the limited time on a Sunday at kids church or on a Friday at kids club. You have time to have those deeper conversations, which is so special.”
During the camp there are four ‘big gatherings’ where the kids and leaders come together to hear the Bible talks. “The people who do the talks put in so much time and effort to make them engaging, by using kid-friendly language that relates to their world. There are lots of moments where the kids really get to understand the gospel.”
Lasting friendships are formed between campers from different churches. Most church groups attending the camp are quite small, with between six and ten kids. At Square One, they get to mix with around 300 other campers. As Robyn says, “The kids see that God's church family is much bigger than just the six kids in their church. And they get to play games with a big group, which is always good fun!”
Pippie adds, “What I really like about Square One is you get to have that big camp experience. Coming from a smaller church, our kids get to see other kids following Jesus, which is really encouraging for them.”
4. Developing a servant heart
Besides the age-appropriate Bible teaching on camp, kids also get to develop their gifts to serve others, by writing a group prayer or reading the Bible aloud for the all-in Bible talks. “They’re not just being fed God’s word, they’re also learning how to serve.”
Square One Spring Camp runs on two separate weekends at the Youthworks Conference Centres Port Hacking:
31 Oct - 2 November 2025 and 7 - 9 November 2025
Children need to be part of a registered church to attend, so please have your church’s children’s ministry coordinator complete the expression of interest form to register a group from your church.