Kids on Tour: A Week to Remember
Over the past 6 months a small team of passionate kids workers have worked tirelessly to prepare an excellent day that encourages children in their faith, opens their eyes to parts of scripture they’ve never explored, and equips them with power by the Holy Spirit to fearlessly live for Christ in a nation that doesn’t.
Last week we welcomed 250 children from 38 different churches across 3 days of Kids on Tour. 42 superb volunteers joined us to make each day a success for every child. 7 local families opened their homes to feed and accommodate the 10 of us who travelled around 340 miles between Woking, Eastleigh, and Honiton. And all with the aim of helping 5-11 year olds discover the relevance of 16 different prophets in just 6 and a half hours each day! But, whilst numbers are fun, this week was actually about people and their stories.
Woking
Worship, Word, and Wonder
Tom Keast kicked things off in Woking with a vision for our sung worship not being about performance but encountering Jesus and loving God authentically. Nathan Guy continued this in Eastleigh where children opened their hearts as God poured out his Spirit, which led us to shout “YOU ARE GOOD!” On Friday the children in Honiton had joy... joy… joy deep in their souls as Chris Ballard helped us lift Jesus higher... higher higher higher! Despite different tech systems and unexpected complications, each of our musicians modelled what being a worshipper is - serving the smallest in Commission with big energy and high quality for God’s glory.
Eastleigh
Off stage, those same workers got stuck in helping kids explore the prophets: from re-enacting the story of Jonah with an inflatable dingy, to writing on potatoes as they dined with Daniel. Some were sitting in a tent unpacking the injustice that Amos prophesied about, while others were praying for our broken nation just like Habakkuk. Kids were walking with Micah, sticking faithfully like Hosea, being wowed by the confusing beauty of God’s messages like Zechariah, and eating God’s messages like Jeremiah! And if all that isn’t enough to make you want to study the prophets yourself then ask your kids about meeting Joel’s locusts!
God's Presence and Power
The important stories from the week are the stories of what God did. Hundreds of children committed their lives to following Him, even if that makes them different. Each day children laid hands on each other to pray for boldness as they live God’s way and receive His Holy Spirit power. As we asked God to pour out his Spirit on us, just like Joel prophesied, the presence of God was tangible. Many children saw visions and heard God speak for the first time.
Ethan saw everything change into different shapes and colours after spending time in God’s presence. Julia saw that being with God changes us just like pringles that don’t fit the mould. One of the youngest children painted God’s throne room full of jewels. Another saw a picture of a car crashed into a wall at the same moment that God had shown another child that He is like the AA! Local kids workers were encouraged at how simple it is to facilitate God speaking to children and have learnt how to confidently and creatively allow space. Parents tell us their kids have since heard God speak in their dreams while others are now studying their bibles with fresh zeal.
This Is Children’s Ministry
These are the stories that make our hearts sing, the reason that we endure countless hours of travel and painfully early mornings. These are the moments that make all of the gunge, and the cutting out, and the clean up worth it. This is children’s ministry. Isn’t it great!
Some of the amazing volunteers
