Best Faith-Based Summer Camps and VBS Programs in Nashville (2026)

Nashville is one of the most church-dense cities in the country, and it shows in the summer camp lineup. There are more faith-based options here than most parents expect — free Vacation Bible School programs running a few evenings in June, full-week Christian day camps with archery ranges and climbing walls, and residential overnight camps an hour out in the Tennessee hills. This is what's actually available in 2026.

Full-Week Christian Day Camps in Nashville (2026)

These run like standard summer day camps — full days, paid staff, real activity schedules — with faith content built into the day rather than tacked on at the end. Most land in the $300–$375 per week range.

Barefoot Republic

Barefoot Republic is the most established Christian day camp in the Nashville area, with sessions spread across multiple sites each summer. The flagship Barefoot on the Hill location at Christ Church Nashville (Old Hickory Blvd) runs four weeks — June 1–5, June 8–12, July 20–24, and July 27–31 — at $374 per week. Two off-campus sessions run at $349: St. Paul Christian Academy in Nashville (July 6–10) and Christ Community Church in Franklin (July 13–17). Activities cover extreme sports, tree climbing, archery, music, fine arts, and youth production. Open to rising kindergarten through 6th grade.

Connect Camps at Brentwood Baptist

Connect Camps at Brentwood Baptist is a national organization that sets up a full camp experience on the Brentwood Baptist campus for one week each summer — July 13–17 in 2026. Rising K through 5th graders pick up to six activity tracks: archery, science lab, dance, and others, all built around daily faith content, worship, and small group time. At $305 for the week, it's one of the better values among faith-based full-day programs. Financial assistance is available through the church.

Pine Cove City at Fellowship Bible Church

Pine Cove City at Fellowship Bible runs June 15–19 at Fellowship Bible Church on Franklin Road in Brentwood. Rising 1st through 6th graders, $319 for the week, drop-off 8:45am and pickup at 4pm. Pine Cove runs similar city camp setups at churches across the South, and the format is well-dialed — high-energy days with outdoor games and daily Bible content woven in.

Camp Big Fish (Mt. Juliet)

Camp Big Fish calls itself Tennessee's largest Christian day camp, and the Mt. Juliet location earns that description. Rather than offering single-week sessions, they run a 9-week season from May 26 through July 24 — the full summer, at $2,250 per child (or $2,000 for a 7-week option). Hours run 7am–5:45pm, one of the widest care windows of any camp in the area. If you need somewhere for your kid to be all summer, this is the one to look at.

Free and Low-Cost VBS Programs Near Nashville (2026)

VBS is a real Nashville summer institution. Most programs are free, run four or five mornings or evenings in June or July, and are open to kids from any family — you don't have to be a church member. Easy to pair with other camps, or a good starting point for younger kids who haven't done structured summer programming before.

Brentwood Baptist VBS

Brentwood Baptist VBS runs June 8–12 at 7777 Concord Road in Brentwood. The 2026 theme is Illumination Station — the idea that Jesus is the light of the world, explored through crafts, games, worship, and Bible teaching. Free for kids ages 5 through completed 5th grade. One of the largest VBS programs in the Nashville area.

Long Hollow Church Kids Con

Long Hollow Church Kids Con runs four evenings at the Hendersonville campus (June 2–5, 6–8:30pm) — worship, Bible stories, small group time, and recreation each night. Open to any kid ages 4 through rising 5th grade, not just Long Hollow families. Free. A separate session runs at the Gallatin campus on a different schedule; see Long Hollow Gallatin Kids Con for those dates.

WOC Camp Truth

WOC Camp Truth at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro runs July 13–16, Monday through Thursday, 8am–noon. Built for rising 1st through 4th graders, with a theme centered on the idea that God's truth doesn't change. At $35 for four days, it's about as affordable as faith-based programming gets.

Overnight and Residential Christian Camps Near Nashville (2026)

For families ready to try overnight camp, two programs within an hour of Nashville have been doing this for decades — and both come in well under what national brand overnight camps charge.

Horton Haven Christian Camp

Horton Haven is in Lewisburg, about an hour south on I-65, on the Duck River. They run day camp Explorer sessions Monday through Friday, 9am–4pm, for ages 6–10 at $270 per week — one of the better day camp prices anywhere near Nashville given the genuine outdoor setting. Overnight sessions for ages 7–17 run $285 for Mini Camp up to $370 for a full week. The rural location is the whole point; it feels nothing like a church parking lot program.

Bethany Hills Camp

Bethany Hills Camp sits on 310 acres in Kingston Springs, about 30 minutes west of Nashville off I-40. It's a ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and has been running youth camps on this land for generations. Sessions in 2026: Junior Camp for completed 3rd–5th grades (July 15–18), Chi Rho for completed 6th–8th (July 7–11), and CYF for high schoolers (May 31–June 6). Pricing varies by session; scholarships are available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there free Christian summer camps near Nashville?

Yes — several Nashville-area churches run free VBS programs every summer. Brentwood Baptist (June 8–12), Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville (June 2–5) and Gallatin, and World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro (July 13–16) are among the options on Summerly. Most are designed for kids ages 4–12 and run four to five days.

What is the difference between VBS and a Christian summer day camp?

VBS typically runs mornings or evenings for one week, is usually free, and is organized by a local church congregation. Christian day camps like Barefoot Republic, Pine Cove City, and Connect Camps run full days — typically 9am–4pm or longer — cost $300 or more per week, and are run by organizations built specifically around camp programming. Both include faith content, but the scale, activities, and experience are quite different.

Are these camps open to families who don't go to those churches?

Almost all of them, yes. Barefoot Republic, Pine Cove City, Connect Camps, Camp Big Fish, Horton Haven, and Bethany Hills are all open to any family regardless of church affiliation or denomination. Some VBS programs give church members priority registration, but most welcome anyone — and actively encourage kids to bring friends.