I would like to ask you all a question. When you think of a church, what are the first few thoughts that jump into your mind? For some of us, we visualize a place, or a house of worship, i.e., songs being sung, hands clapping, feet stomping and bodies shaking all to the glory of God. On the other hand, and unfortunately so, there are some of us whose experiences with ‘church’ translate to rolled eyes, raised eyebrows, a heavy sigh and shrugged shoulders – or more simply put boredom.

 

Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I’ll ask a simpler question. When you think of children, let’s say ages 3 to 18, what comes to mind? Yes, I know that’s quite a range for one to stretch their mind as it regards a definition for children, but bear with me, there’s a point to all the questions. Screaming, shouting crying, running, fighting, laughing, along with a host of other verbs, diaper changes and the identity crises of adolescence are just some of the things that come to mind for me – it may be a totally different journey for you.

The reason I asked the above questions, which even for me, were seemingly thought provoking, is because I intended to ask you to combine the two, i.e., church and children (250, ages 3 to 18), add five days (from 5 to 6 pm) and a few Sunday-School teachers and tell me what you get. The answer to that equation for the R.L.I.C. was its Children’s Crusade, 2009. 

 

Indeed, it was as exciting as it sounds. Five days of interactive learning in a vibrant and conducive atmosphere, with Jesus Christ as the central theme. It was an effort of the church to counteract the difficulties that challenged the execution of Vacation Bible School or VBS, which is traditionally held earlier in the day in the month of August but was being threatened by the busy work schedules of the Sunday-School teachers.

 

So yes, there was singing, clapping, stomping and bodies shaking to the glory of God, but that was accompanied by a bit of rolling eyes, raised eyebrows, heavy sighs and shrugged shoulders. However, this wasn’t necessarily the result of boredom, but the reality of the process and situation that we engage as we teach children – unfortunately, it’s often the same or worse as we try to teach adults as well.

 

There was also screaming, shouting, crying, running, fighting, and all the other verbs, as well the adolescent issues – but the grace of Jesus Christ in the teachers most often translated to patience and humility for these situations – note the ‘most often’ (I’m laughing to myself at this point and having fun with this article).

 

However, and most importantly, a group of 250 children (ages 3 to 18) had fun on their August vacation while they learnt more about their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So it is with these factors in mind that I personally – as do many others, I’m sure, congratulate the Sunday-School Superintendant, Deacon Ronson Enoe and the team of dedicated Sunday-School teachers of the R.L.I.C. for their excellent execution of such a worthy undertaking.