A Twist On Tradition

By Megan Crowley and Sue Hale

This summer, Central's three, four, and five-year olds have been soaking up the Son in a new way. Every other Tuesday morning varying groups of about 15 preschoolers, along with their parent, grandparent, or other caretaker, have joined together to learn more about Jesus during the Summer In The Son program.

Each morning consisted of two hours filled with Bible stories, songs, active games, snacks, crafts, and prayer, all focused on helping the children grow in their understanding of who Jesus Christ is: how he lived while he was here on earth, and how we can be in relationship with him now. While a team of five adults helped to prepare and lead the mornings, parents and caregivers were also drawn into direct teaching time with their children. At the beginning of the morning, little ones snuggled up on grown-up laps to locate each story in an adult Bible as well as a children's Bible, then mark it with a special bookmark. They also came together for a quiet moment toward the end of each morning to reflect on what God's word for the day meant to them and to prepare to pray. Throughout the morning, younger siblings were lovingly cared for by a second team of adults and teens.

In June, the children learned that Jesus Forgives! as they explored the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), the wee little tax collector who climbed up in the tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus Helps! was the theme for July. The children learned that when Jesus said, "Be still!" even the wind and the waves obeyed him (Luke 8:22-25). Jesus helped his friends when they were scared and he's always ready to help us too when we ask. In August, our preschoolers found out that four determined men dug a hole in a roof, then lowered their friend down into a crowded room so he could see Jesus (Mark 2: 1-12). After discovering what happened next, it was clear that Jesus Heals!

Our church has a rich tradition of large, energetic, week-long vacation Bible school camps. These have typically included many children from our congregation as well as children from the surrounding neighborhoods, making VBS camp a wonderful ministry to our own body as well as a terrific outreach. With all of the construction going on this summer, however, this type of camp simply was not possible this year. Our gracious God who loves children (and knows we do too!) gave us the vision for Summer In The Son. In essence, it has been a small VBS-type program stretched out over the course of the summer, with a few other twists. We had to significantly limit the number of children who could attend each morning this summer, but we are excitedly looking forward to continuing the program in 2008 in an expanded format. This will allow us to include more preschoolers from Central as well as to reach out to other families beyond our walls, so that even more children will be able to spend their Summer in the Son!

Look for our collection of photos in the Concourse later in the month of August!

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!
Matthew 16:16