How does a Church get and hold the interest of children long enough to tell them about God and in a way that they will remember for a long time? The answer for Campoverde Church in the Community is: provide them with a Summer Club, held every Thursday in August, that is fun, exciting and gives them an opportunity to display their talents, with God sprinkled on everything we do!
We take our role in the community very seriously. We know that going to Church is increasingly unpopular in modern life but rather than just close our doors and give up, we take our Church out into the community. Everything we do as a Church is motivated by our desire to tell people about God.
We are particularly aware that the younger generations know even less about God than those older generations who maybe grew up going to Sunday School or being in the Church choir as children. Teaching about God is being excluded more and more from modern life and we believe that is having a detrimental effect. We want to give the children in our village the foundations of knowledge of God and all the amazing things he has done and continues to do that we hope will stay with them as they go through their lives. Hence the Church Summer Club was started two years ago and continued this year.
Our theme this year was “Bible Superheroes”. One of our four afternoon activities was focused on telling the story of and preparing a graphic illustration of: Noah and the Ark, Daniel in the Lions Den, Jonah and the Whale, and David and Goliath, each of which has an important lesson for today. The kids also made Bird Boxes, a Bug Hotel, jewellery, all of which included a cross, and painted a tile with a bible theme.
The mornings were spent in Campoverde Square (Plaza Florida) and the park behind it. The day started with a prayer and then fun and games with Marylyn. She took them through their paces with exercise, dance and team games. Everyone then played French Cricket and football. Lunch was at a local bar, the Tipsy Cow, where the children were fed and watered and spent time playing on all the children’s equipment before walking to the Church and Community Hall, known as The Shed, for their afternoon activities.
The whole Summer Club was finished off with an End of the Show Show on Friday August 25. Lots of the children turned up with their family, friends, neighbours and supporters. The grand finale was the singing of this year’s song: This Little Light of Mine I’m Gonna Let It Shine.
All-in-all the whole Church Summer Club of 2023 was a huge success. We had 72 children on our register, with an average attendance each week of 33 plus 20 helpers. The total cost was covered by donations from within the community. Special thanks go to all our helpers, too numerous to mention.
We are confident that all the children now have more knowledge of God than they did before and we hope and pray that they will remember and draw on that knowledge throughout their lives. Thanks be to God.
