As a church, we were thrilled to hear about the Mission Enabler Grant! We had been praying for a long time about the possibility of setting up a mid-week evangelistic ministry to serve primary aged children in our local area. We felt the need for this ‘stepping stone’ to help bridge a gap between our existing outreach events and our weekly children’s discipleship ministries.
We had quite a clear vision for the ministry we hoped to establish and how it would relate as part of a pathway toward encouraging children to explore and grow in faith in Jesus. We also identified someone from within the church family who we felt would be a great fit and who was excited about taking on the role, with the right support and subject to a Safer Recruitment process. This person was already invested in serving among young people at church, and had themselves been keen to pioneer a mid-week ministry to reach children in our local area. The Mission Enabler Grant facilitated this vision to become a reality, by allowing the person we had identified for the role to set aside a day to devote to beginning a weekly after school Kids’ Club.
After the appointment, the initial weeks of the role were spent planning in detail what the ministry would look like, where and when it would be, and publicising in our local area. At the same time, the Mission Enabler began the work of establishing a team of volunteers, including Junior Leaders, who would be enthusiastic about serving the children, making sure they were well cared for and having a great time, as well as exploring the gospel and who Jesus is with them. These weeks of preparation were of great value in ensuring the Kids’ Club would begin on good foundations.
The Kids’ Club has now been running each week during term-time since the middle of March. The children enjoy games, crafts, and activities, much of which are helping to reinforce the big Bible truth they are discovering that week during a simple, short and interactive gospel talk. There is time for chatting, questions, and snacks too! We have a mix of children from church and children who have never been to church before. We’ve been really encouraged to see our children who know and trust Jesus inviting their friends to come along. While the group has started off small, we are delighted to see how engaged they are with discovering more about who Jesus is, what the Bible says, and why it all matters. We are looking forward to seeing how the Lord might use this Kids’ Club to bring children to a living faith in Jesus!
Anna de Castro, Christ Church Oughtibridge
