Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; who was and is and is to come. Revelation 4:8
Two weeks ago Geelong RPC held their annual July School Holiday Outreach Program. Emily Mikelsons tells us how it went:
“Before we opened the doors for registration, all the leaders paused their preparations to pray together. We thanked God for His faithfulness in blessing this program we have run every school holidays since 2014 – it has been a special ministry for our congregation.
- We asked Him to continue planting and watering the seeds of the Gospel in the hearts of the children who come, and their families.
- We asked Him to be close to those children who might be nervous or shy.
- We thanked Him that the team from RPCNA Missions were there too, and for the encouragement and gifts that they contribute.
- We asked the Holy Spirit to lead our interactions and conversations with all the children
- We prayed that our own children would be growing in faith as they were part of this ministry alongside their parents, learning how to be mission-minded in their young, every-day lives.
- We thanked God for the gifts that He had given to each of us and asked Him to bless our use of them in this way.
- We expressed our desire for Him to be glorified above all else.
- We asked to be used in advancing His Kingdom in our community.
- We prayed that the children and their families would see our love for Jesus and for each other throughout the day.
Afterwards, we reflected together that God had visibly answered our prayers throughout the day.
- We were strengthened with guidance and wisdom by the Holy Spirit.
- We openly shared the Good News, each using and developing their gifts of teaching, speaking, running games, reading stories, comforting, creating fun, showing love, serving food, preparing activities…..
- We watched our own children step into this day, which for them is just a normal thing they do every school holidays and share the ‘normal’ parts of their lives that come from being in a church family.
- We enjoyed sharing the day with the mission team, enjoyed being blessed by their willing service and enjoyed investing in them at the same time.
- We told each child about Jesus, who is King of kings- and is the same God who was, and is and is to come.
We can’t know how many of these programs we will run in the future. We don’t know if one or one hundred children will show up next time. We can’t know how long our freedom to proclaim the Gospel in this way will last in Australia. But we know the God who does know!
We don’t know what the answers to some of our prayers will be. We don’t know how those seeds of hope and truth will take root in the lives of our neighbours. We don’t know how our own children’s faith and lives will be shaped by this. But we know the God who does know. Our holy God. The Lord God, the Almighty. Who was, and is, and who is to come.
