We completed our holiday bible club this afternoon. Overall, we were happy with how things went. I think we averaged about 14 kids every day, and we probably had over 20 different children attend at least one day. I think at least five children had little to no church background, which is the group we were trying to target.
Although we were limited in the number of workers we had, the club did attract the support of many folks in our church. That was encouraging. We were also encouraged by the larger numbers of children compared to last year. When you reserve a room, plan a program, make all the preparations, and then 2 children show up – or none – it can be kind of a downer. So we were thrilled to have between 12 and 16 each day. And the Christian parents who brought their children were an encouragement and showed their appreciation.
So, overall we would say that the effort was worthwhile, although the club wound up with a slightly different focus – mostly kids from Christian families – than we had intended. So far in our time in Wales, it has seemed that traditional children’s ministries just don’t hold much attraction for the general public. I suppose that could change if the ministry is supported by more personal relationships with the families we are trying to target. However, the growing impression on us is that ministry “programs” are just going to be very limited in their effectiveness, unless perhaps the program is augmented with one-on-one contact. Even so, we ultimately rely on God being at work and drawing people to Himself. We just need to keep working at finding those people.
Thanks so much for praying for the holiday club. We had a great time, made some new friends, taught the gospel to many children, and experienced the Lord’s grace for serving even in the midst of fatigue and changing focus. It was a good week. These kinds of ministries don’t always bear their main fruit until much later, and we are happy to leave that with the Lord.