In a KidsHub started in a poor community in Nairobi, leader Lucy was overwhelmed with too many kids. “Each time we ran the KidsHub more and more children would turn up, 250 one week
, then 300, then 400 and we were only a team of 4 leaders. I even tried to run the Hub at different times & fortnightly in the hope that fewer children would turn up but they kept coming!” Faced with such a fantastic problem Lucy looked to the community for help. She made every child bring someone from his or her household to the KidsHub. She shared the vision of KidsHubs with the parents & carers present. She then asked them to form a committee to help run the KidsHub with her and be responsible to supply porridge to the children when they met. In short “if the community didn’t become involved we couldn’t run the Kidshub” said Lucy. The community agreed and the KidsHub is continuing with the help of the locals. The majority do not have Christian backgrounds but see the value in what Lucy and her team are doing. What a challenge and what a great solution!
Children’s Ministry as the Presence of God
One writer has suggested that the strength of Jesus’s ministry was not merely his witness but in fact his ‘withness’. He was with people. What might that look like for us as we engage in ministry to children?
Dave Roberts is a writer and children’s ministry advocate.
Roberts shows the fascinating historical link between the worldwide Premier football league and the church. He goes on to show how KidsHubs and Ubabalo are both ministry models promoting ‘withness’ amongst leaders and children learning & growing together.
Gardening Hub in Guatemala prison
Every Monday inmates aged 15 – 18 years at a prison in Guatemala are busy growing vegetables and learning about Jesus. The government of Guatemala is allowing this Gardening Hub as a trial working with young men who have been part of the “Maras Gang”, in jail for committing violent crimes. These boys cannot use any tools, not even plastic ones to grow the vegetables.
It is great to see the creativity of faithful Christians in Guatemala reaching the unreachable.
Check out the KidsHubs Gardening Guide for ideas on how to do it in your local context.
Photography & Prayer Go Together
At a recent KidsHubs photography workshop for children in Kampala, Uganda children were asked to write down what they were expecting from the training. To the leader’s surprise children said they wanted to learn how to pray. And pray they did! The leader said “their prayer requests were touching.”
I want to pass primary seven with 4 aggregates
I want my parents to respect God
I want God to forgive me of my sins
I want to be faithful
I want a bright future
The children learnt about the importance of light in photography and the true light of Jesus. Children took 2500 pictures and many learnt how to pray and why they should pray.
KidsHub Media Workshops a Winner!
Togo and India have run KidsHubs Media sessions with great success. Read on…
Togo Media KidsHub led by young team
Three teen leaders first introduced to the KidsHub Media sessions in 2013 are now leading their own KidsHubs. For 3 weeks Wisdom, Fonetico and Zeka have taken children through the KidsHub Media guide. As their leader in Togo said: “It’s great to see them take on the leadership role. It’s one of the outcomes of that first training.”
Secunderabad, India
About 50 kids aged 5-16 years attended a day-long KidsHubs Media workshop at a church in Secunderabad. The children loved the interactivity and creative tools like filming and story telling. Pearl who ran the workshop said “they were enthusiastic and eager to do KidsHubs on a regular basis. They believe that the KidsHubs idea will help generate interest in their children and teens and bring them to church.”
Liberian Orphans’ Computer Camp
A 5 day KidsHub camp was held in Monrovia, Liberia in August. 36 orphans learnt about computers and discipleship in Jesus. The KidsHubs computer sessions were used by an enthusiastic female leader who has a passion for computers. Meanwhile the team in Monrovia are restarting plans for KidsHubTV now things are settling down after the Ebola outbreak. Pray for them.
Will There be Faith?
How are we going at passing on our faith to our young people in a secular world that sees God as irrelevant? A world that encourages self-sufficiency and self-expression as the purpose and goal of human life. God gave His people clear instructions about how to pass on their faith to their children in Deuteronomy 6 in the Bible. It’s as relevant today as it was in Moses’ day. Greg Priebbenow, an Australian pastor in the Lutheran tradition writes: we make a faith impression by talking about our faith as part of our daily lives – at the dinner table, while cooking or doing the dishes or gardening or cleaning, while travelling in the car, while on outings and holidays. If faith is a “whole of life” thing, then “God-talk” can and will happen anywhere and anytime. Sounds like KidsHubs!
Following an animated Jesus!
5 brand new animations called ‘Following Jesus’ have been uploaded to www.kidshubtv.com.
Episode 1 shows a locust-munching John the Baptist and an engaging Jesus drawing crowds and fisherman. Watch them online or view them on a smartphone using the Max7 App. There are dynamic children’s ministry lessons to go along with the videos on Max7.org. Let us know what you think of them at the KidsHubTV Facebook page.
KidsHub Media training
25 enthusiastic leaders aged 14 – 25 years from 2 churches took leave from their school or college to attend a 2-day KidsHubs Media training in Chennai, India. Ramesh and Mike, two experienced KidsHubs trainers & ministry champions led the packed program taking them through all aspects of creating a video from shot timing & framing, lighting & basic editing & sound to storyboarding. Mike enthused, “We saw a tremendous change in the quality of the videos…they were quick to learn and implement the skills they were taught.”
Mike and Ramesh have led trainings & spoken to many churches & ministry networks sharing the vision of discipleship. Mike stated, “There is still a need to help deepen and broaden the understanding of the need to disciple children, and we realise that one of the powerful ways we can help facilitate this process is through KidsHubs, where young leaders interact with children on a regular basis and thereby both train and disciple them at the same time.”
You can download the KidsHubs Media manual that Mike & Ramesh used in English or Tamil.
Computer KidsHubs
In South Asia a dedicated team have been running Computer KidsHubs in 2 regions with 549 children involved. They have made use of the introductory Computers sessions on KidsHubs and then added touch-typing using Bible passages. They are looking to create more sessions on how to use Powerpoint. Go team!