Canyon Kids is a local outreach program at Grand Canyon University, a private Christian University in Phoenix, Arizona. Every Saturday morning, about seventy volunteers of GCU students meet in Cypress Hall at 8:45a.m. to prepare for Canyon Kids. The group shares morning laughter as they have breakfast and coffee together before they head out at 9:15a.m.

All of the volunteers that participate in Canyon Kids are rockstars! They dedicate every Saturday morning to wake up and serve at 8:45a.m. until 12p.m. Canyon Kids does not provide extra credit to students, and it doesn't count as community service hours. All of the GCU students that participate do it because they love Jesus and want to share His love to the kids in the neighborhoods around the school.

In the morning, the Canyon Kids leaders are given the rundown of the message, craft, and snack that the kids will be doing for that day. Before the group of volunteers leave to pick up the children in the local neighborhoods. the team leader shares a passage of Scripture to help focus the hearts of the volunteers. Canyon Kids is a spiritual service opportunity for students, provided through the Local Outreach team in GCU's Spiritual Life department.

The volunteers are broken up into seven or eight groups. Each group has an assigned neighborhood leader. The teams walk off campus for about 2 blocks to pick up the kids in the area around the school.

In the middle of Grand Canyon University is a public park were Canyon Kids is held each week.

Canyon Kids is a Saturday Bible school event, or a VBS. The children learn about Jesus and the love He has for them. Canyon Kids is a place where kids can get out of the house and have some fun with college students at the park.

On average, about fifty to one hundred kids show up each week. The GCU students separate the kids based on age. Red Ruble is for ages 3-6 years old. Blue Crew is 7-8 years old. Green Machine is 9-10 years old. Purple Crazy are all kids from Jr. High to High School.

The kids are taught a Bible lesson, and given the opportunity to memorize a verse. They also play games, make crafts, and have snack. All of the children that attend Canyon Kids look forward to Saturday, because it is where they are allowed to be silly and get all their wiggles out. The kids also love being able to create a strong bond with the college kids. Moms and dads also enjoy Canyon Kids as a free ministry for their kids to learn about God.

Grand Canyon University is expanding their campus rapidly. Unfortunately, this does have an effect on the communities around campus. Canyon Kids has made a strong effort to encourage the families to continue attending Canyon Kids, even if they end up moving farther away.

Canyon Kids recently announced that they have expanded to a second park: Cielito Park. By providing a second park, Canyon Kids is able about to share God’s good news to the kids in that neighborhood as well.

The community of GCU students that participate in Canyon Kids is extremely strong. They are a family that meets every Saturday and loves kids together. The friendships that are made are irreplaceable. Canyon Kids is truly awesome!