Having had to adapt the Christchurch Children and Families’ work to virtual-only methods throughout the pandemic, it is now with great pleasure that we are able to give an update as in-person work returns!

We are excited to announce the return of Sunday School at Christchurch! We had our first session on the 12th September, where we ran a biblical-themed scavenger trail. This took place outdoors – thankfully it didn’t rain! With clues, riddles, and lots of hunting and running around, we hope that those who attended had a great time, and that the fun of the scavenger hunt has them fired up for the coming sessions! We are incredibly grateful to God for the opportunity to meet face-to-face with friends old and new, and for the great turn out of children and their parents. We pray for His wisdom and guidance as we settle back into a (hopefully!) consistent rhythm of Sunday School, and for these sessions to be helpful for the children as they grow to be young disciples of Christ!

In the future we also hope to start up a midweek club for the children, echoing the kind of content that we produced in video form for our Ebenezer youtube series. We will be learning more about how this will look from the experience of Sunday School in the coming weeks, so please do pray for these plans as well!

As term starts back at school for children of all ages, so too does our schools’ work! So far, it’s been something of a mixed bag. We are back to doing our Open the Book assemblies (for the first schools) via video format, due to covid concerns. We pray for this situation as it develops, and thank God that we have the option to send in pre-recorded OTB assemblies as a way of reaching the children while keeping everyone safe. A big thank you also to the OTB team for all their hard work, particularly in having to adapt to ever-changing situations!

The lunchtime Pursuit club has started back up at Christchurch Academy! We are grateful for the opportunity to interact face-to-face with the children once more, and for all of the hard work that the staff put in to allow us to bring the good news about Jesus to these children’s Tuesday lunchtimes! Please pray going forward that this club will bear fruit, whether now or in the future, in bringing the children to Christ.

Finally, we are also in Christchurch Academy every Thursday (and via video format) to deliver assemblies to the various year groups. Our new series is on Joseph’s life, and what we can learn from his faith in God! We pray these assemblies will reach the children in a meaningful way, and give them some time to reflect on the lessons of the Bible!

Please do be praying for the Children and Families’ work, both in church and in the schools! We pray that this new school year will be a good one for all of the children, and one in which their faith continues to grow!

Peter Cuthbert