GodZone

GodZone (ɡɒdzəʊn)

noun the regular Sunday morning meeting of children aged 5-11 at Christ Church Abingdon, Northcourt Road. Often includes dramas, quizzes, prayer, worship and fun.

E.g. 'I went to GodZone today and it was brilliant' 

This morning was the last official GodZone for Val, Clive, Jonny, Helen and a few others. I took responsibility for planning and running the morning because I wanted to give them an amazing send off but there was so much I couldn't include that I felt I needed to write this too.

GodZone started just over 11 years ago. The children's work at Christ Church used to be split into two age groups and the children would start in the main service before heading to their groups. A group of people started to imagine what it would be like if they created a kids church...where the kids all gathered together, where there was a live band and fun games, and relevant bible teaching for the children. So that's what they did.

It has been so successful too- we regularly get between 50-70 children each morning plus 20-30 teenagers and leaders. There have been several different quiz formats, a million dramas written, lots of songs, prayer activities, puppet sketches, over £2000 raised for charity...and approximately 400 people who have ever attended or helped with GodZone.

Kids love the fun element but also get excited about meeting with God and learning more about being friends with Him. The team have learnt more and created more things throughout the years, and it keeps getting better and better. I'm sure the next chapter will bring lots of new inspiration and excitement.

This morning as I prayed for our team I said that lots of things have changed but God has stayed the same. I am so grateful for the blessings that God has poured out through GodZone.

So many children and adults have benefitted from the amazingness of GodZone...You might think that this blogpost is about silliness and fun and celebrating GodZone...and it is...but it's also about a group of people that has shaped my life, and I wanted to share that with you too.

My parents have done children's work for as long as I can remember. They used to help on summer venture camps and Sunday school. I attended them all and then as I got to 11 years old and was no longer considered a 'child' I made the natural move to helping with kids work. I helped with Climbers (5-7's) at church and as a Go2 on the venture camps (don't ask!).

As a child I had heard about God from the adults around me and I loved developing a personal connection with Him because of it. I was excited to go to church, I loved singing and dancing and worshipping, I found prayer meaningful and that being with God was amazing fun. The adults, my parents and their friends, had strived to inspire me and teach me, but also to give me a safe place to explore and question. They never judged me or looked down on me, they loved me unconditionally.

As I became a 'leader' I found great pleasure out of watching children ask questions like I did, and have the same awe-inspiring moments that I had, and I wanted to help contribute to creating that safe space for them. I wanted to learn from those adults around me and to love those children, just as I'd been loved.

As a teenager I helped with kids work, at 16 I started to lead groups for myself. In my gap year I did kids work in our sister church site and in the summers I began to lead holiday club groups.

Following university I joined the UpFront team and began formally leading GodZones. One of the responsibilities that I haven taken on myself is to invest in the teenagers because I know the value of that investment myself.

I have now been doing kids work for over 13 years which is over half my life and I hope I have a lot longer to go!

Val, Clive, Jonny, Helen, James, Lynn, Mum and Dad have shaped my character and my faith. They led me as a child, they taught me as a teenager, and they support me as an adult. My parents joke that we corporate parent in our group, but it's so true. These people have been extra parents to me and are now some of my closest friends.

The person that I am, the characteristics I have...I learnt from them.

Mum and Dad taught me more than I can put in this blog (perhaps another time!)

Jonny taught me to think outside the box.

Helen taught me the power of words.

James taught me that nothing is too crazy (and the importance of time-keeping!)

Lynn taught me compassion and empathy.

Clive taught me that I am smarter than I think.

and Val...she taught me everything I know about children's work.

You see, today wasn't just a celebration of GodZone for me...it was a celebration of everything that these people mean to me. The love that they put into teaching children over the years has been immense to watch, but I will forever be indebted to them for the love they have shown me. Our families have laughed and cried together over so many things, we have gained and lost people over the years, but the love has never changed, because the foundation in God has never changed. It's special and rare and I hope some day that my children will experience that kind of family love.

I hope today went a small way to showing them how special they are.

Thank you all xxx