KIDS' POWER UP

I’m sorry to announce that it’s an end of an era with regards to Kids’ Power Up. KPU won't be happing this year.

The idea of KPU started in early 1994 with a dream of a kids’ day camp under “big top” tents in a field with 250 kids. Literally a dream. (Some might think that that sounds like a nightmare or maybe that I had had a bad burrito the night before.) As far as I know, I don’t think at that point that I had ever heard of anyone doing something like KPU (or that anyone had been dumb enough to try). I simply chalk it up as a God thing and 28 Kids’ Power Ups have proven that true.

For the last 30 years in January, I’ve started the assent up “KPU mountain” with regards to the bazillion details needed for it to come together. Each year there has been a passion and fire to do this and see it through with only Covid shutting it down for 2 summers. It’s hard to explain but this January has been different.

A mostly sleepless night on January 2 left me wondering whether or not I could do this again or if we should even do the camp again. Since then, there’s been a lot of soul searching, praying and discussions with key people in my life. Simply put, I keep coming back to the idea that the passion and fire to do KPU again has gone out, it’s time to stop, reevaluate and see what’s next. I’m not sure what that is and no, it won’t be this summer.

I know this news is going to disappoint a lot of kids…and youth leaders… and parents. The people pleaser in me hates disappointing people but that’s not the right motivation to keep something going.

For 28 summers, Kids’ Power Up has been a labour of love. To say that at least 100,000 volunteer hours have been given over those years is in no way an exaggeration… in fact, it could be more than that. I can’t thank enough the youth and adults who gave a week of their time (sometimes many times over) to love kids and put them first. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 250 kids for a week with only myself as a leader would have been a disaster… the kind that makes the news!

Our hope in every KPU has been to point kids (and families) to Jesus. Even though it’s ending, we have and will always do a little bit KPU each Sunday in what we call KidZone from 11am to noon here at Refinery Church. We feel that church shouldn’t be something that one endures but something that is a highlight of each week for kids, youth and parents. You’re ALWAYS welcome to come but be warned, your kids will likely want to come back and we’re hoping you will too! If you have any questions about KidZone, please send them my way via the "Contact Us" tab at the top of this page.

VERY Sincerely,

Mark Williams