Animate is a summer camp in worship and the arts for teenagers and their adult mentors.
Animate is Samford's Center for Worship and the Arts original summer camp in worship and the arts for teenagers and their adult mentors that takes place on the campus of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
Registration is now open!
Middle school and high school students, join us at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama from June 24-28, 2024, to discover your passion and elevate your artistry at Animate: the summer camp for worship and the arts. With guidance from special guest artists, alongside Samford faculty and student leaders, you will learn to engage in multiple styles of worship and connect with artistically-minded friends and mentors, taking what you have learned back home to use your gifts to serve your church.
Ministry Leaders, gather a group of student musicians, vocalists, visual artists, dancers, poets, preachers, technicians, actors, and all other aspiring creatives – along with staff and lay leader adults committed to helping mentor faithful worshipers of Jesus. Through Animate, get immersed in rich worship experiences, thoughtful teaching, and practical how-to sessions so that you can empower a group of young disciples who know they are not only the Church of the future—but the Church right now.
We will have on-campus housing this year!
Theme Verse: “You teach me the way of life. In your presence is total celebration. Beautiful things are always in your right hand. ”--Psalm 16:11
Imagine if you had the ability to read and digest the whole Bible in one setting, and then imagine, right after that, you started praying. What would those prayers sound like? The Bible itself answers that question: those prayers would sound like the book of Psalms. In a way, every story, every teaching, and every lesson in Scripture is found encoded in the breadth of language and expression in the Psalms. All the colors of emotion—from joy to sorrow, from anger to anxiety, from horror to hope—are covered in God’s “top 150” worship songs known as the Psalter. This year’s Animate is dedicated to exploring the Psalms as a roadmap for worship and life, with the hope that as we walk its paths together, we will gain a greater sense of who we are in light of who God is and what he has done for us in Christ.
Nate Glasper
Nate Glasper is a Resource Development Specialist and Campus Worship Associate at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. He is currently the director of the Calvin University Gospel Choir, while also serving as Worship Pastor for Grace for the Nations Church in Grand Rapids.. As a worship leader and recording artist, Nate has traveled for events in the USA and abroad such as Haiti, Guatemala, South Korea, and South Africa. Nate is the founder and coordinator of Camp Judah, a worship camp for youth and teens desiring to grow as young worship leaders and songwriters. His goal is to train and equip the next generation of worship leaders.
Micaiah Kelly
Micaiah Kelly graduated from Samford University in 2023 with a Worship Leadership degree and is now serving at Mountain Brook Baptist Church as Associate Minister of Music. She believes following God’s call to be a worship leader goes far beyond musicianship. It is an outpouring of your love for the Lord and a deep desire to see the people of God love Him, too. Micaiah recently married her college sweetheart, Kerrig Kelly, and they live in Birmingham, Alabama.
Cameron Thomas
Cameron Thomas serves as assistant vice president and dean of chapel at Talladega College. He also serves as pastor of the Hutchinson Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Cameron received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Samford University and his Master of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in preaching at Baylor University. His research interests include pastoral ministry, Black preaching tradition, and the formation of preachers. In 2020, he launched Cameron R. Thomas Ministries to support preachers in the Black church and community. Cameron is married to Terah Stockdale Thomas.
Sarah Smoot
Reverend Sarah Wilcox Smoot is a pastor, artist, and mother. Dance and faith intersected early in Sarah’s life when her high school ballet teacher invited students to be in liturgical dances for a local church, and during seminary, partnering with student artists in other disciplines to create theological performances. Sarah draws on the assorted styles and disciplines of her dance training, choreographing liturgical dance influenced by modern American choreographers, as well as styles of West African peoples. A big part of her ministry is developing and teaching movement prayers that are accessible to people with or without dance training, pairing gesture with well-known scriptures and prayers. Sarah is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and received her theological training from Duke University Divinity School. She pastors at Church of the Reconciler in Birmingham, Alabama, and her family enjoys serving the church through art together.
Mission House
Born out of a community of friends gathered in living rooms and basements, Mission House is the creative delta formed by Raleigh, North Carolina artists & folk-rock singer-songwriters, Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt. Kindred hearts not only in their musical styles and tastes but also on a spiritual level, Jess and Taylor quickly began performing together, and soon after started a weekly gathering with friends around a simple vision: share a meal and worship together. Through these gatherings they began writing songs they felt their community needed to hear, to sing, and to take with them throughout the week. The result was worship music that felt different and yet true to who they are as singer/songwriters. “What we hope more than anything is that our music brings the reality of Jesus into people’s lives,” Taylor and Jess recently explained. The duo has indeed embarked on a new mission: Simple, joyful, folk/rock worship music that creates a tangible space for intimacy, with friends and with their Creator.
Jonathan Skaggs
Jonathan Skaggs is an actor, writer, and creative director who holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Samford University, as well as a certificate in Worship Leadership from the Samford Center for Worship and the Arts. As an actor, Jonathan has performed with numerous theatre companies across the United States and spent many years traveling with the Christian music and storytelling tour, GENERATE. Jonathan later served as Creative Director for GENERATE where he wrote, directed, and produced multiple tours for upwards of 30,000 audience members each year. Jonathan believes that storytelling is one of the most powerful tools to connect with each other, ourselves, and God. In addition to his continued work as a performer and creative, Jonathan serves as the Director of Enrollment Management for Samford School of the Arts where he gives leadership to the recruitment and talent evaluation of incoming visual and performing arts students. He has a strong passion for helping to equip young artists to lead a life filled with creativity, and he is excited to bring his gifts as a storyteller and instructor to Animate this summer.
Jocelyn Mathewes
Jocelyn Mathewes is a mixed-media interdisciplinary artist, living with her family in rural Appalachia in East Tennessee, USA. She earned B.A. in Studio Art and English Literature from Messiah College. Her work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and community spaces all over the United States. She has participated in residencies with the Artist Residency in Motherhood (ARiM), Makers Circle, and Stay Home Gallery. In 2020, she founded EAT/ART space, an alternative pop-up gallery, where she curates exhibits. She also organizes artist meet-ups in the southern highlands to foster regional growth, collaboration, and innovation.
By registering for Animate, you will have the chance to choose an artistic track that sparks your interest and select from a variety of toolbox classes. Our exceptional Samford Faculty, as well as guest artists who are experts in their respective fields, will be your instructors. Toolbox classes offered for 2024 include, but are not limited to:
Animate tuition is all-inclusive and covers housing, meals, snacks, toolbox classes, concerts, special events, and a really cool T-shirt. Register early for the best price, and to secure your spot. Contact cwa@samford.edu for information on potential discounts.
Early Bird Price – February 1 to February 29 – $299
Discounted Price – March 1 to March 31 - $399
Full Price – April 1 to May 15 – $499
Groups of 4+ students get $50 off per registration while groups of 10+ students get $100 off per registration.
Adult Group Leaders come for FREE! These discounts are offered at each price point so register early to get the best price.
“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”—1 Timothy 4:12
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