Week 5-Union Grove, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Boanerges Baptist Church, Grace Baptist Church, FBC Arcadia, & New Blackwell

Rosamond

Week 5 of Street Reach here at Bible club Rosamond was amazing! The church from Union Grove came in this week to work with the kids that they’ve come to know and love for years now, and it was beautiful. The kids really seemed to enjoy the high energy shown at games and songs stations. They especially enjoyed the detective agent themed Bible stories. I personally enjoyed hearing the kids understand a Bible story being told from the perspective of an evidence seeker, a job well done indeed. The excitement shared between the team and the kids seemed to build all week long ending in a bang (very fitting, since Friday was the 4th of July) with Hawaii Friday. Inflatable palm trees and sharks glittered the club site, lighting it with color as child after child ran, jumped, sang, sat, and rode piggy back across the field. And I DO mean child after child after child. Rosamond had a high of 78 this week and not once failed to have at least 73, the only exception being July 4th itself. Thank you, Union Grove, for the love you have shown these kids this week. Pray that God will continue to work in these kids’ lives. Pray for the handful of noted salvations we had this week, that they will mean it in their hearts and that God will grow them up in His spirit that they may bear much fruit.

-Kaden

National

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5). Paul encourages Timothy to be faithful in his ministry and with the care of the church at Ephesus, likewise, First Baptist Church Arcadia was faithful in sharing the gospel as they answered the call this past week to serve at National. The entire week they were evangelistic in all their speech and conduct. They preached the word to the kids that came to National all throughout the week. We had 59 kids this week on our biggest day and it is no doubt that every day, even with 59 kids, that they all still heard the gospel. The theme in Bible story this week was the Easter story. Bible story caused the kids to ask questions and the team was intentional in taking time and being patient with sharing the gospel with the kids no matter how many times they shared or how long it took for the kids to understand. They were patient with the Lord’s timing and for his work to be fulfilled in their ministry. With that, we had quite a few kids come to know Jesus Christ as their living Lord and Savior. Be praying for the kids that made a commitment to follow Jesus this week and for them to continue to follow hard after Jesus the rest of their lives. I am excited for this last half of the summer and the teams that are going to come in to be able to disciple these kids more as well as plant seeds in more of the kids hearts for the Lord to grow and harvest. Pray with me for God to continue in the abundant work he has begun at National. To him be always the glory, honor, and praise.

-Gaby

Guernsey

What a great week we had at Guernsey with New Blackwell! Guernsey is one of the core sites we have been able to run every week this summer, and the 4th of July week was no exception. This team's willingness to serve was such an encouragement. They continually showed love to each child whether it was through making crafts, teaching Bible stories, playing cool relay races, and even puppet shows. Many of the kids continued to come to club early and were there waiting for us when we pulled up. This week Ladameion told me he had been waiting at club since 9 AM, a whole hour before we get out there! I was blessed to get to talk to him almost every morning and he even stayed after to help us clean up each day. Every day he told me something new he learned in Bible story. One day he explained that he learned that the disciples had betrayed Jesus but He still loved them, and even used them to make more disciples! He continued to tell me that when he grows up he wants to help run Bible Club. Praise God for not only allowing us to come in touch with such precious hearts in these children, but also for sending such willing mission teams who would love the kids with the love of Christ.

-Sarah & Holly

Johnson

The first week of July was a great one at the Johnson Bible Club, or camp, as the Johnson kids like to call it. Monday started out with a bang with 94 kids! That is the most we have had, not only all summer, but in a long time of Johnson's history. There were many new kids who came to club due to the fact that they were in town for the holiday, and it was great to minister to many new faces. The team was from Boanerges Baptist Church and they did a great job all week! There was only ten of them and yet they had high energy and kept their cool even with so many kids outnumbering them. The kids had fun and Christ was proclaimed in every moment. The kids that came to Johnson this week returned home more physically, mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually nourished due to the great work of Boanerges. Thank you all for your hard work and passion--it was not overlooked! We are excited to see how the rest of the summer progresses at good old Johnson. 

-Chris

Whittier

It was a wonderful week at Whittier as Grace Baptist came in with passionate hearts. The excited team of 20 had many people who have served at Whittier for years and were ready to see the kids they remembered who stole their hearts in years past. The team members who had not experienced Whittier were ready to make new relationships. Everyone on the team was ready to work to change kids' hearts for the Lord, and God showed up and did even more than everyone expected! The team was determined to share the gospel, so they went out into the streets and brought a lot of new kids who had never been to club before. Each station was full of energy which brought in even more kids who were seeking structured fun and love in their lives. Games were very interactive and the kids were captivated by the team’s ability to turn any game into a Biblical lesson. Structured water games were also a big hit, becoming so popular that the team had two days of different water games the kids enjoyed so much. The craft station used unique and adorable crafts that included memory verses and ideas that followed what was taught at Bible story each day. Each craft kept the kids engaged by using stickers, jewels, and even pipe cleaners to decorate their creations. Whether it was a CD fish, whale, turtle, or life raft, each craft had a lesson behind it relating to a story in the Bible, which the kids love to learn. Bible Story was very successful, and each lesson always pointed back to the gospel. Kids learned interactively by actually receiving goldfish to learn about Jesus feeding the five thousand, and pretending to fish as Peter was fishing when Jesus called him to “fish” for men and be His disciple. Kids also learned about the gospel through simplified visual aids which were easy to understand. Because the team from Grace Baptist Church was obedient to God, seven precious kids made a profession of faith and were added to the many other children whose lives have been touched by those willing to serve this summer. Thank you for being a special part of Street Reach and using your passion to serve the Lord and others.
-Teal

Kendrick

A few weeks ago, the team and I said that God must be up to big things in the Kendrick neighborhood...well, I think we were right! 

First of all, we’ve moved the site again, but we’ve moved to the church one street over. The pastor and congregation have been so welcoming and we look forward to working with them in the future. After meeting with the pastor, we are now able to refer families to this church that will be within walking distance of all of our children’s homes. We are so excited to know that our kiddos will have a close church family all year round and that we’re able to use the church parking lot and grassy field for Bible Club! 

Secondly, we had a returning, but new to Kendrick, team in town this week and our kids loved them! Mt. Zion Baptist Church from Arkansas was serving over at our new site. Our kids learned all about the different attributes of God through the Bible stories and the team was sure to reiterate what had been taught there in every station! One of my favorite things to see this week was how the team would quiz the kids on what they’d learned--while eating lunch, playing games, walking to and from club, lining up to rotate to the next station--every opportunity to have a learning moment was taken. The games station was a sight to see with the colorful parachutes this week, and our kiddos even taught the team how to play their version of tag called “Polar Bear!” Our kids loved the songs station where instruments were brought out for the older kids (there was also break dancing involved!) and the younger children were able to enjoy performances by some pretty cool puppets. We ended the week with a Fourth of July club and were pleased that with all the things going on in the neighborhood 35 kids still came out to participate. Thanks for serving this past week Mt. Zion, and everyone stay tuned for more information about how Kendrick continues to grow! 

-Kacie, Ashley, & Chassatea