Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp is a 2006 documentary directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a pentecostal summer camp for children who spend their summers learning and practicing their "prophetic gifts" and being taught that they can "take back America for Christ."


Becky Fischer runs "Kids on fire", a bible camp that is set in the mid-western United States. The camp itself is a mecca for evangelical children. Becky's sermons usually are about repenting temptations and sins (swearing, thoughts about the flesh..)

"Kids on Fire" seems like small cult that teaches young naive kids to deny the scientifical approach and embrace Creationism. It teaches kids that Jesus Christ is their only salvation from this earth, it teaches them to hate all other religions


Becky's message becomes quite clear in the beginning of the film. She states: "kids are so useable (for christianity)" "I want to see them (kids) as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are over pakistan, palestine, israel for islam". Becky's main points are that all Islamic teachings, teach their kids how to kill for their god. She goes on to say that kids are the key to getting Christianity across (by force) America. ""im sorry but we have the truth"



The documentary in itself was a well made one. Very well edited and produced.
It is a very difficult one to watch. Why? Because you see all the mass hesteria these so called preachers produce. Scaring kids into thinking that homosexuality is wrong and a sin. Teaching kids that Wicca is the devil's religion. That the some basic characteristics of being human (curiosity, rational thought, expression) are all bad.
One Camp Counselor tells a group of kids that telling a ghost story at night is not preferable to Jesus.....


The Documentary shows Ted Haggarad in one of his sermons. Teaching about the sins of Homosexuality. How gays will go to hell and are living in sin. Funny, because later in 2006 Ted Haggard was caught soliciting sex from another male and looking to score some drugs.



More difficult to watch is the scenes where kids "speak in tongues" and appear to go into a "repentive trance". They show the kids crying out, speaking in "tounges" in hopes that their lord will forgive them. Kids as young as 5.

The Brainwashing becomes very apparent when the film focuses on Levi. A small boy who aspires to spread the message of Jesus. Levi is asked if he is a Christian, to which he answers (in a pre-construed way):

"I've been christian...I was.....at 5 I got saved, cause I just wanted more of life becuase there was nothing that i thought was fun.."

At 5? You really thought nothing was fun at 5?

The statement alone is evident of some form of manupulation this boy has gone through. I'm reminded of what Richard Dawkins once said: "There are no Christian/Muslim/Catholic... children. They are children of Christian/Muslim/Catholic...parents"


Using kids to spread your own believes onto others is a moral crime.