KYTN Adventurer Camporee sees a 40% attendance increase

In 2011, the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference (KYTN) began hosting its annual Adventurer Camporee. By 2016, weekend attendance had grown to the point where a second weekend was added to accommodate more clubs, with an average of 500 attendees per year. In November 2022, registration hit a record high attendance with 720 participants over the two weekends, marking a 40% increase.

Julie Bryant, KYTN Adventurer Event Coordinator, accredits this growth to more churches starting their own Adventurer club in the last months. This includes Madison Campus Church, who has the largest membership in the conference and whose club brought more than 60 new Adventurers.

“[This growth] is a blessing because it gives us the opportunity to minister to more children and give them an opportunity to experience Jesus with their families,” Julie Bryant said.

The theme for this year’s Adventurer Camporee was “A Series of Calamitous Events,” which told the story of Job set in the 1800’s Canadian Rockies. The well-known Bible story was performed throughout the weekend in a three-act original play, which was written by KYTN Adventurer Coordinator Heath Bryant.

Each year, there is a new animal mascot and, following the Canadian theme, this year’s mascot was a moose. In addition to the play, programming consisted of five rotations where Adventurers learned about their mascot friend and earned an award written specifically for the event. Rotations included a learning station, crafts, games, a meet & greet with the mascot and cast, and an animal encounter with live reindeer. On Sabbath afternoon, there was a virtual tour with Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where Adventurers were able to meet the moose in their care.

To finish the weekend, families enjoyed the Maple Festival on Saturday night. Activities included inflatables, a balloon artist and other games and food for families to enjoy. 

“The goal of the Adventurer camporee, and of the Adventurer ministry as a whole, is to create opportunities for young people and their families to learn and worship together,” Heath Bryant said. “It is a blessing and privilege to be a part of this ministry.”

The next KYTN Adventurer event will be the Adventurer Family Fun Day held at Highland Elementary during the 2023 KYTN Camp Meeting.