It had been a while since I’d done a proper Kidz Klub, so as Saturday morning dawned I was already getting excited about what lay ahead!
I was heading to Westwood Church for the Kidz Klub Summer Special, celebrating the end of a brilliant year and the start of the summer holidays. We were gathering all four klubs together from across the city and therefore had moved our celebration into a larger venue. We were also collecting all the children on buses, so this week had taken a lot more organisation than usual!
After a thorough team briefing and some frantic prayers for each other, the bus teams set out to collect the kids – on time! I was part of the set-up team back at the church. Together, we finished hanging up decorations, filling bubble machines, prepping props and checking all our equipment was ready to go. We finished early, which was definitely a surprise.
Soon, the first bus was back, full of kids, who were full of energy. It was amazing seeing the kids come into the church, brushing through a glitzy curtain, getting covered in bubbles, then finding their seats with their teams. They all looked so happy and ready to get stuck into a fun-filled session.
The Summer Special followed the usual programme of introduction and rules, worship, then games. I loved being part of such a joyful worship session – the teenagers leading the actions and the kids copying with gusto. The games featured the legendary ‘Billy McChocca’, who had a surprising, one-off Scottish accent! The kids got really into cheering on their team, whilst individuals solved chocolate-themed clues, aimed chocolates at a target and finally played ‘Moussed or Boost’ where kids either won a boost chocolate bar or had a chocolate mousse pie in their face!
After some chocolatey mess, we all settled down to hear some teaching on the ‘Four Points’:
- God loves us
- We have sinned
- Jesus died for us
- We need to decide to live for God
One of the things that most struck me was how there were team teaching from each Klub – I love how Kidz Klub is full of team that have so much wisdom and are such gifted teachers. The teaching was simple and powerful, and at the end, children were offered the opportunity to be friends with Jesus, by repeating a basic prayer, writing their name on a post-it note and sticking it to the cross. Every single child wanted to be friends with Jesus! I spoke to one boy who wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be doing, I explained it again clearly and he instantly wrote his name down and was desperate to get to the cross.
We finished the session with a mini-party celebrating what God had done and a mammoth prize giveaway! The faces of the kids who won were brilliant – one being so excited to win a remote-control spider and another a huge monkey teddy! The kids then headed back onto the buses (after some last minute trips to the toilet!) and were off home.
I was so impressed with the kids – they’d had a change of normal venue, but they all settled in so easily. They encouraged their teams and others with cheering and chanting, and listened to instructions. There were almost no discipline issues the entire session, which was amazing! God gave us such a joyful, powerful session, showing us how we can unite together to worship Him and celebrate each other.
Needless to say, I’m super excited already for next year.
