Summer Partnerships 2026
In the summer of 2025, Abiding Presence partnered with four congregations (Christ, Fairfax; Grace, Fort Washington; Faith, Arlington; Epiphany, Alexandria) to offer a week of VBS/summer camp at their churches as a way for the partnering church to reach out to their neighbors. This summer, we're ready to expand to up to 10 congregations.
How does it work?
Abiding Presence provides staff, curriculum and supplies for a week of VBS/summer camp for preschool and elementary age kids at no expense to the partner congregation.
The partner congregation advertises the VBS/camp, opens the doors to the church and provides on-site rostered leader support during the week of camp. Camp runs from 12:00-3:00 p.m. with the Abiding Presence team arriving around 11:00 a.m.
If the partner church has teens (7th-11th grade) or college-age young adults (graduated 12th grade - age 22), they are welcome and encouraged to volunteer/work alongside the Abiding Presence team for the week.
Ideal congregations are:
Looking for ways to intentionally reach out to their neighborhood
Excited about doing something new
Able to provide on-site rostered leader support to welcome and interact with families, inviting them to worship on the Sunday after VBS/camp
Located no more than about 20 miles away from Abiding Presence
Ready to learn more?
We're hosting a meeting with the Abiding Presence team and the pastors of our partner congregations from last summer. Join us at Abiding Presence (6304 Lee Chapel Rd, Burke VA) on Thursday, January 22 from 10:30-12:00 noon followed by lunch (provided by Abiding Presence) for anyone who would like to stay. RSVP or learn more by contacting Rev. Meredith Keseley, Senior Pastor.
I can't say enough about how impressed I was with [the Abiding Presence] team, what a great experience it was for the kids and their families, and how much it helped us kick-start some enthusiasm here about our fall program. I think Epiphany is going into the fall with a lot more energy and enthusiasm than we've had in a long time and having VBS was a big part of that.
- Pastor David Yocis, Epiphany Lutheran Church in Alexandria, VA
I can't say enough how terrific VBS was for us at Grace. The program you have developed is fun-filled, faith-filled, grace-filled in so many ways. Thank you.
- Pastor Becca Vargas, Grace Lutheran Church in Fort Washington, MD
Why does Abiding Presence do this?
We run a nine-week summer program on-site at Abiding Presence. More than just a summer camp program for preschool and elementary school age kids, our summer ministry includes employing about 50 high school and college-age young adults from the church to enter into a time of intentional faith formation, leadership development and vocational discernment. These high school and college-age youn adults become the staff for our summer camp. We are blessed to have more staff than we need for our program at Abiding Presence. So, we go “on the road” to other churches in the synod to share our abundance of staff in places where getting enough volunteers or having the financial resources to support a week of VBS/camp isn’t possible. We think this is what it means to be church together. Our summer camp program has been key to our congregation’s growth, vitality and outreach and we want to make that possible for other churches.
What weeks are available?
We currently have spots for two congregations per week for the following weeks:
June 22-26
July 6-19
July 13-17
July 20-24
July 27-31
How do I sign my church up?
The church’s pastor should contact Pastor Keseley, Senior Pastor.