A few months ago in one of my blogs, I wrote about an experience I had on a week long missions trip I went to that was to Mexico City in February 1994. During that trip, it was there that God began stirring inside of me an idea. I could not shake this idea all week long and could not wait to get home to begin working on it. My idea was simple! If teens ages 15 - 18 could go on a week long missions trip and serve God by doing dramas and clown ministry, why couldn't young kids ages 10 - 12 do the same thing? The purpose of my attending that trip was in hopes of bringing the concept of Sidewalk Sunday School to Long Island. I dreamed of raising funds to purchase a box truck that would convert into a stage that we could bring to local parks. That idea never panned out but another idea was brewing inside of me.
When I got home I started working on some ideas. One idea I tried was the concept of Backyard Bible Clubs that a few parents at my church hosted. It would be for an entire week and would be at various homes. I recruited a few kids and volunteers to do Clown Ministry at each "Home base." It seemed like a good idea at the time but it only lasted one summer and the vision for it never caught on. My responsibilities at the church were beginning to increase and I still wanted to develop some type of missions program for kids. In the Fall of 1995, I attended a Children's Ministry Conference in Orlando, Florida sponsored by Charisma Life. During that conference there was a demonstration of a Sidewalk Sunday School at a trailer park in Orlando. A few leaders from Metro Ministries from Brooklyn, NY did the demonstration in front of a group of kids. I was mesmerized and wanted so badly to bring this amazing method back to Long Island. Let's just say I spent the next 10 years trying to convince our Trustee Board it was a great thing to purchase a vehicle to do this great ministry as an outreach to the kids of Long Island. All I heard was the answer "NO." Little did I know at the time that God had other plans for our children's ministry besides buying a Sidewalk Sunday School Box truck. In October of that year, I began to think strongly about developing a missions class just for kids. I really believed many of the kids in our children's ministry needed to be challenged. I also knew that many of the kids I had at that time who were between the ages of 10-12 were very mature in their faith. I didn't know when to start it, how to start it and what it would exactly look like so I wrote down some goals. What did we want to accomplish? I then met with our Missions Pastor at a local diner and presented my idea to him. He was thrilled and loved it. I then decided to begin this class in January. My Missions Pastor recommended that I present this idea to our Missions Board. I was a member of this Board. The first words out of my mouth were "I know this sounds like a crazy idea, but I am developing a class on missions for kids in grades 4-6." The Missions Board loved this idea too!
So I had a lot of work cut out for me. I had to recruit not only kids to take this class but also workers. Right after Thanksgiving of 1995 I tried to look for curriculum but could not find anything at all, It was then that I had to do Plan B...use a college textbook I had. The book I used was called "Introduction to Global Missions" and I had to simplify the book so these preteen aged kids could understand it. Right before Christmas, I sent a letter out to kids in our church who I felt were spiritually mature and invited them to take the class. I didn't want just any kids, I wanted kids there who wanted to be taking this class. I didn't want kids there who had parents forcing them to take this class. I called the class "Kids Mission Bridge" which was a takeoff of the "Mission Bridge" program that was taught by the missions organization "Youth with a Mission." The mistake I made was that I did not have a sign up for the class. I told the kids they would learn all about missions and that we would be doing puppet ministry, clown ministry and drama. The class was slated to start on Sunday, January 14, 1996 during the Sunday school hour in the "C" building. Over the Christmas break I did receive a few phone calls from parents and had no clue what type of turnout I would get. On January 7, 1996 Long Island had a major snowstorm. We got well over 2 feet of snow that blanketed our area. I wasn't sure how that would affect church attendance one week later. On January 14, 1996...25 years ago on a Sunday morning I was ready to begin this program. I seriously expected maybe 6 or 7 kids in the class but boy was I surprised. I will never forget after the 8:30 am service that morning walking into the "C" building. There was a huge line going down the hallway. When I walked down the hallway, I had kids and parents asking me where the missions class was! We did not get 7 kids but 18!! I was in shock and so blessed to see these kids excited about taking this class!
Well this blog is longer than I thought so I will write part 2 next week about our outreaches and how I developed the curriculum. Have a blessed week friends!!
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