Outreach, Through a Child's eyes

Being called from God to Children's Ministry my mind always go to this...What is the best way to Reach, Teach and Lead children and families to Jesus? I enjoy seeing and hearing of churches who take "Children's Ministry" seriously. These are our future Pastors, Deacons and Leaders of the church. We as Christians need to be investing time into our children. We need to reach them on their level with fun and exciting ways to hear about Jesus. I had the pleasure of helping with the Kid's Fishing Rodeo that New Providence Baptist Church held yesterday. I was so impressed by all of the volunteers and work that they have done to prepare for that event.

What would bring children and families out on a cold, rainy and even stormy day? Well, Fishing of course! The thought process behind it was genius! I always say that if you want to reach children and families then find out what they like. Well, it was WET. Very wet! That did not matter to those that came. My daughter Bella says she had the Best Day Ever just being at the Kid's Fishing Rodeo. Now, that is pretty special if it ranks as Best ever.

The love of Christ was seen through every part of this event. The folks cooking the food and serving it were such a sweet face of Christ. My daughter ate 5 hotdogs, Yes, 5! They should have told her to go away after the 3rd, but they were so gracious. The music was amazing. At one point when it was thundering and the rain was coming down real hard we stayed under the big tent. It was so wonderful to be able to WORSHIP in the rain. You would expect people to be grumpy they were getting wet, but all of the volunteers were gracious and welcoming to everyone.

This event was so much more than about fishing. It was about showing the face of Jesus to the community. Pastor Mark Caldwell gave a wonderful Gospel message in which the response was great. As I watched folks stand up who wanted to receive Christ my heart rejoiced. You see, it was raining...HARD at some points. We all were wet. The last place you expect someone to come and get saved is on a wet, muddy day. GOD IS GOOD!

So, from the eyes of a child...(my daughter Bella). We stood under a tent with it pouring rain. At first we were trying our best to stay toward the middle of the tent to avoid getting wet. We played a ball game where we gave out candy and flyers inviting children and families to our church at Central Baptist to join us for our upcoming VBS. I am thankful that Jason Ridenour asked us to come and share about our church too. I was thinking, my 10 year is going to be begging to go home, but she did not. She made the best of the rain and got wet, then wetter then SOAKED! She laughed and played in the rain. She got to go down the bounce house slide in the rain which was super fun for her. She fished, but did not catch anything. She didn't care that she did not catch anything she was having fun.

Then, we all gathered under the tent to hear Pastor Mark. She sat quietly and listened to him share the Gospel message. Then, when Jason got up to give out the door prizes her eyes lit up. She was excited to win something. She kept telling me over and over that this was the Best Day Ever. The rain did not make a difference. Jesus was glorifed yesterday. So many kids and families came, had fun and heard about Jesus. Some even gave their life to Christ yesterday. I call that a HUGE SUCCESS! I am so thankful for all those at New Providence that helped to put the Kid's Fishing Rodeo on. I know we enjoyed it immensely. What a GREAT way to do Kingdom work and what a GREAT way to do something fun for children and families of Loudon County. This Outreach, from the eyes of a child was AWESOME! THANK YOU!