Benji Carey and others from Onekawa Bible Church have worked hard for many years establishing wonderful connections with local schools.
Benji has been involved with Launchpad and providing music lessons in various schools. Others have helped with Launchpad too, as well as reading and taking morning tea to teachers.
Over time, they have built relationships with around six schools in the area, with particularly strong connections with two or three.
Children from these schools attend a weekly afterschool programme run by Onekawa Bible Church, which enables Benji and the team to continue to build relationships with children and families in their community.
Benji noticed that when some of the young people aged out of the afterschool programme, at around age 11-13 yrs, they didn’t want to leave. Many have stayed on at the programme as junior helpers. Benji recognised a real spiritual hunger in some of these young people and a desire to go deeper in understanding the Bible.
Last year, after chatting with their parents, he invited nine of these young junior helpers to stay after the afterschool programme, to eat a meal together and do a bible study. He thought there might be a few who were interested but all nine were keen and all their parents or caregivers were happy.
They did an 8-week course through the Gospel of Mark. Other young leaders heard about it and now also want to do it, so he is looking to run another one later in the year.
These young people are also involved as junior helpers in the school holiday programme run by the church. Benji continues to invest in them by doing devotions with them during the morning tea break.
In the near future, Onekawa is hoping to start a junior youth group that will join their own 12-15-year-olds with these ones from the community.
It is great to see the ongoing investment in and faithful journeying with these young people as they have moved through the various outreach initiatives run by Onekawa Bible church.
By Julie McKinnon, Children and Family Ministries Enabler.
