Let the Children Come
It’s fair to say that COVID-19 has impacted all of our lives in some way. I don’t know about you but this is certainly not how I imagined 2020 would unfold. And yet, in a lot of ways, we’ve adapted quite well to our new kind of ‘normal’, even as we miss aspects of our pre-COVD-19 life.
Technology and lots of hard work has allowed us to continue to engage in our weekly worship service via Church Online. What a blessing to be able to gather across our homes on a Sunday, to sing to God, to pray to Him and to hear from His Word. I trust that you and your family have leaned into God and the truth of His unfailing love, as you’ve continued the rhythm of Sunday worship from your lounge room.
Life has become very different not only for us as adults, but also for the children in our church family. For the past couple of months, they’ve been separated from school, sport, music/dance lessons, friends, elderly family members, Kidz Church, GEMS, Cadets, and more. It’s wonderful to see some restrictions being lifted but we are still some way off being able to gather together for Kidz Church on a Sunday.
As a church, we are committed to caring for and supporting all of our church family through this time, including our youngest members. So, let me share some of the ways we’ve been connecting with and encouraging the children of our church community.
You may have seen the Kids Spot each week during our online service. By including this in our service, we want our kids to know they are valued and loved members of our church family. Their spiritual growth is important to us and we want to nurture and help them grow in Christ. And hopefully for them to see a familiar face and share a laugh is reassuring.
Each week our Kindy to Grade 4 children receive a Bible story/lesson and a craft pack delivered to their home. A special thanks to Lurelle Murphy for preparing all the crafts, and to my team of delivery drivers. The focus of these lessons is on the unchanging character of God in these uncertain times (e.g., God is Compassionate, God is Faithful, etc).
The children in Grades 5 to 6 connect each week with their Kidz Church class and leader via Zoom (online video platform). This is a time to catch up with everyone, chat about the Bible lesson or sermon, and spend some time in prayer.
We also have a BPCC Kidz Church Facebook Group for parents, where we share photos, stories, helpful articles, and generally keep connected during this time apart.
As restrictions continue to lift, and we all slowly come out of this season of enforced hibernation, there remains some uncertainty around exactly when our Sunday services and ministries will be back to normal, but what remains certain is that God is faithful and he is in control.
So, for now and into the future, we will continue to share God’s love with the children of BPCC, by welcoming them and drawing them near, just as Jesus did. May we always follow His example.
Jesus said “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)
God bless,
Caroline
