TIFTON, Ga. — For the 10th year in a row, Camp Chula has welcomed children to First Baptist Church Chula for a week-long day camp.

This year was their biggest year ever, according to Pastor Brian Allen.

“This is our tenth year of having Camp Chula,” Allen said. “The whole purpose of having the camp is so that every kid can see, hear, know and respond to Jesus. This year is our largest year ever. We’ve had 218 campers register and total, with volunteers and everybody, it’s right at 300.”

“This is our end of the week celebration,” said camp coordinator Casey Betts. “We have all the water slides. We have the fire department out here wetting us. We have the rock wall. It’s the culmination of the week.”

Both Betts and Allen were excited to announce that 24 children made the decision to accept Christ.

“That’s what Camp Chula is about,” Betts said. She said that the camp relies on volunteers, such as the summer missionaries from the Baptist Collegiate Ministry.

“They get to see that following Jesus and hanging out with other believers is not a boring, mundane Sunday thing,” Allen said. “It’s something that’s fun and exciting. It gives life to them and gets them excited about knowing more about Jesus.”

Camp Chula is already making plans for next year’s camp, which is open to children from preschool age up to 6th grade.

Betts said that the 2020 camp is scheduled for July 6-10 and that early registration will open in March on the church’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/firstbaptistchula/.