Sixteen children from Millbrook Elementary School, Aiken, came to know Jesus this spring. They heard the gospel from a group of Good News Club volunteers from Millbrook Baptist Church.
“The response has been wonderful. The children have been great” said Roy Morgan, leader of Millbrook’s Good News Club.
An estimated 48 grade-school students meet every Monday in the school’s cafeteria to eat a snack, sing songs, and, most importantly, hear a Bible lesson.
Millbrook Baptist Church members offer their time and talents to serve Christ in the school place.
Morgan told the teachers about the club. He said, “The program is designed to help children respect authority, to learn to follow rules, to really have fun, but it is a Bible club. And so were going to teach them about Jesus.”
Morgan said they do that through songs, skits, object lessons, and memorable phrases about the Bible lesson. It takes a team to reach the kids, he said. There are roughly 38 volunteers serving the children, ranging from young to old. Morgan said their youngest volunteer is 16 and the oldest is over 80. The 80-year-old man, who desired to serve but was uncertain if he could, has found a place leading in prayer and helping monitor trips to the restroom.
Recalling the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, Morgan said, “In the hands of Jesus, our human resources can be multiplied … it doesn’t matter how young or how old you are, if you’re willing to let Him use you, He will.”
Volunteers prepare for the students.
He said after the Bible lesson, they offer students the opportunity to go talk about salvation with a volunteer or just pray. He said one week they had about 11-12 students to go back just for prayer. One student asked for prayer to stop lying.
Leaders can follow up with parents about a student’s decision through the information acquired upon a student’s registration in the club. When parents register their child, they answer questions about church attendance and provide contact information. This information is helpful for potential follow-up.
But the impact doesn’t stop with the children.
“We’re developing relationships with the teachers, the parents, and with anybody who works on that campus,” said Morgan. “We’re trying to make an influence for Christ, not just for the children, but for the adults as well.”
Morgan said, “Our church has a great relationship with the elementary school, the middle school, and the high school as well. They’re right there at our back door, within walking distance.”
Good News Club typically lasts six weeks, either in the fall, springtime, or both. The club is sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship, “a Bible-centered, interdenominational, worldwide organization, composed of born-again believers whose purpose and mission are to evangelize boys and girls with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, disciple them in the Word of God, and establish them in a Bible-believing church for Christian living.”