5-Day Club in Greenwood, SC. July 18-22, 2011

We gave out Bibles, sang awesome songs, memorized scripture, and taught the Gospel through Bible lessons!

A 5-Day Club is a club that meets 5 days in a row over the summer and is lead by a group of local teen summer missionaries. This summer a team from Greenville came and helped lead three 5-Day Clubs last week. We reached children at the YMCA, La Puerta de Esperanza (for just one day), Pinetree Apartments, and the Sunshine House; a total of 102 children. We were able to lead 3 of the children to Christ!

We shared lessons about Noah, Saul, Zacchaeus, Mephibosheth, and the Ethiopian treasurer with a missionary story about the life of Mary Slessor a missionary to Africa. The Bible stories encouraged children who have already accepted Christ to obey God, be kind to others, and pray. The stories taught children who do not know Jesus about how to become a child of God and how He changed the lives of the people in the Bible stories.

I am really excited about this ministry growing next summer! We plan to hire a 5-Day Club coordinator to coordinate the locations and recruit local teens interested in reaching children for Christ!!! God has blessed us with many Good News Clubs in the schools during the school year, but the 5-Day Clubs give us the opportuniy to reach children throughout the ENTIRE year! FALL, WINTER, SPRING, and SUMMER!

Please keep us in your prayers.
Specific prayer requests:
-Hire someone to coordinate the 5-Day Clubs and to help me (Mary Beth) during the school year
-Good News Clubs in:
-Oakland, Springfield, Pinecrest, Merrywood, Mathews, Lakeview, Woodfields, Hodges, McCormick, John C Calhoun, Cherokee Trail, Ninety Six, and W.E.Parker Elementary Schools
-Volunteer recruitment
-Get into more schools
-Edgefield, Saluda, Abbeville, and Ware Shoals

Thank you for your support and prayers!

Jesus REALLY Loves the Children

I read this book before the beginning of the summer. God used the book to show me how important it is to tell children about Himself. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend that you read it. It is a quick read. It took me 2 days to read.

God reveals Himself to children in ways that we cannot imagine or believe. Now is the time to turn their attention to the Lord. Children are open to the Gospel and they can clearly understand and respond to the Gospel. In the Bible, Jesus talks a lot about having the faith of a little child. He understands how a child's mind works. Their minds are a lot different than an adult mind. Statistics show that 85% of all Christians came to know Christ before their 15th birthday.

In the book, the little boy experienced something that not many people get to experience. God took him on a trip to Heaven and then back to earth. The book is about his story. The story gives us an awesome picture of what heaven will be like. Throughout the book, the boy's dad talks to him about his experience. When they began talking about Jesus, the little boy told his dad that Jesus really loves the little children. He would say that same statement over and over. Jesus REALLY loves the little children. Jesus REALLY loves the little children. When I read that part of the story, it made me think about how important it is for children to know God's love. The song, "Jesus Loves the Little Children", also popped into my head. I did not realize there were more words to that song than what we sing with children, but when I looked it up I was introduced to the whole song.

Jesus Loves the Little Children
Jesus calls the children dear,
“Come to me and never fear,
For I love the little children of the world;
I will take you by the hand,
Lead you to the better land,
For I love the little children of the world.”

Refrain

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

[Alternate refrain:

Jesus died for all the children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus died for all the children of the world.]

Jesus is the Shepherd true,
And He’ll always stand by you,
For He loves the little children of the world;
He’s a Savior great and strong,
And He’ll shield you from the wrong,
For He loves the little children of the world.

Refrain

I am coming, Lord, to Thee,
And Your soldier I will be,
For You love the little children of the world;
And Your cross I’ll always bear,
And for You I’ll do and dare,
For You love the little children of the world.

We are the Lord's soldiers. He has called us to care for His children and show them how much He loves them. The Lord loves the children so much that He has allowed us the chance to go into the public elementary schools and openly share His word with them. This is an awesome opportunity the Lord has given us! We need to act quickly and take advantage of the short time we are allowed into the schools. Please pray with me this summer that the Lord will prepare the volunteers for this school year and use them to fight this battle and win the souls of the little children for Him.

"And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 18:3

God is Now Here

Last night, I was reading a book by Greg Laurie called Essentials. He opened with this story:

I once heard a story of a hardened atheist who had led a successful life, and had a nice home and family-a loving wife and a little daughter he adored. He simply had no place in his life for God. One day, unexpectedly, his health took a sudden turn for the worse, and it didn't look like he would survive. Rather than softening his heart toward God, however, he became harder and harder. When at last he seemed to be at his deathbed, his wife called the pastor at her church to come visit her husband, hoping he could perhaps lead her atheist spouse to faith in his last days. When the stricken man saw that pastor walk into the room, however, he began to scream profanities at him. "Don't you ever let that preacher in my house again!" he yelled. "I don't want God. There is no God. Infact, I want you to take out a piece of poster board, and write these words on it: 'God is nowhere.' And I want you to put it at the base of my bed so every morning when I wake up I can see that sign."
The one soft spot in this man's heart was his little daughter, who was the apple of his eye. But the though he loved her, he didn't want her influenced by his wife's faith. As the man's condition worsened and it looked like the end might be near, it was decided that this little girl should be taken out of the home for a time. The pastor and his wife kindly offered to take her in. So the atheist's daughter lived in the pastor's home, and for the first time she saw a family praying, reading the Bible, and going to church together. Her little life was changing, and her heart eagerly responded to the truths about God and Jesus. Not only that, but the pastor's wife began to teach her how to read. Then, again unexpectedly, the father's health began to improve. As a result, the little girl was allowed to go and spend a few moments with her dad. He was still weak, but she climbed up onto his bed, threw her arms around him, and kissed him. "I love you, Daddy," she said. "Well sweetheart," he replied, "I love you, too. Now, where have you been? What have you been doing?" "I've been going to church and hearing about Jesus," she replied. "And I've even been learning how to read." The father could hardly believe that. "But you're so little," he said. "Surely you couldn't know how to read too much at this point. You've only been gone a short time." "No, Daddy," she insisted, "I can read now." "Really?" he said. "Tell you what. Why don't you read that little sign there at the base of my bed. What does that say?" The little girl looked at it for a moment, and began sounding out the words. "GOD IS..." she began. Thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly brightened. "Daddy, I've got it now! Your sign says, 'God is now here.'" And then she said, "And you know what, Daddy? God is here. And He has been with you the whole time you've been sick. And we've been praying for you." Suddenly the father choked up, asking his wife to take their little girl from the room. He asked God to forgive him, and he believed in Jesus Christ.


When a child attends a Good News Club just once, he/she is taught the Gospel and taught how to pray. We do not know what kind of home life they have. As this story shows, the little girl was gone a short while, but was taught about Jesus and how to pray. Because of that short time, she was able to go home and share the truths about God to her atheist father. He had heard the same things from his wife and his wife's pastor, but he only hardened his heart. When he heard his daughter talking about God, he asked for forgiveness and became a child of God! The Good News Clubs work the same way. We reach the children and the children reach their families.

God is now here. He is here in Greenwood, Abbeville, McCormick, Edgefield, and Saluda - the Lakelands. The Lord is opening up doors into the schools throughout the Lakelands area! He is moving in the hearts of pastors and church members to adopt a school and start a club. We are starting a club at Oakland Elementary, Ninety Six Elementary, W.E. Parker Elementary and a community club at La Puerta de Esperanza. Praise the Lord for everything He is doing! God is Now Here!!!!