In a quiet room at Lander University’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries, tiny slips of paper were passed out and placed before college students and members of North Side Baptist Church. Printed on the paper was the lone name of a child in Abbeville.
“What is God’s word concerning those kids we’re going to see tonight?” North Side associate pastor Travis Agnew asked the people in the room.
“I want you to pray that that child tonight will be loved, even though you may not know this kid or the kid’s family. … Ask God for a glimpse into their home,” Agnew said. “Pray for that child’s family.”
Agnew led the group through a time of prayer, with each person praying for the child whose name lay in front of him.
“Pray for that lesson tonight, that that kid might hear the lesson,” he continued. “Right now, pray for their church home – and if they don’t have a church home, that they might get involved in a church.”
Then, as Agnew wrapped up the prayer time, he dropped to his knees in reverence to the one he prayed to.
“Now, specifically pray that at the end of this time they will become a Christian,” he said softly. “God, we are honored that we get to be your hands and your feet.”
N*Gage is a program involving North Side Baptist, Lander University Baptist Collegiate Ministries and other local churches and college students who might be in Greenwood for the summer.
Every Tuesday evening, the group has a preparation time in Greenwood before picking up a cargo of kids from just outside Abbeville and delivering them to Chestnut Street Park in Abbeville for Bible study and a time of play.
A Bible study by Anderson University student Kelley Amick discussed Abraham and his son Isaac, and the sacrifice Abraham was willing to make.
Kelly’s topic for study was appropriate, not only as a Bible story for the children, but also because of how it can be applied to a group of students and local church-goers who forfeit their free time to place a smile on the face of a child.
The group participated in a game that could make a bystander tired, but the children apparently enjoyed it, with faces beaming and shouts of joy breaking the silence of the otherwise quiet Abbeville park.
The group was making a difference.
“This is bearing fruit,” Agnew said. “You could do so many other things on a Tuesday night.”
Reprinted by permission.