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The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group

How prayer and a warm welcome are the key to sharing Jesus with toddlers and their carers

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Early years | 2:36

The Secret to a Thriving Toddler Group

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How prayer and a warm welcome are the key to sharing Jesus with toddlers and their carers

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00:04

It was one of my friends, through my daughter's school,

00:07

recommended this play group.

00:09

I'm not a Christian,

00:10

I don't have any religious beliefs, personally.

00:12

I suppose I was little bit hesitant at first,

00:15

just wondering about the content of the sessions.

00:17

Just curious, I suppose, as to how much Bible stories

00:21

or the Christian messages

00:23

would be prevalent throughout the sessions.

00:26

But actually,

00:27

I found it was all very measured, very age appropriate.

00:32

Nothing ever felt forced onto me.

00:35

The welcome really did put me at ease,

00:38

and it made me feel that this was just a kind of

00:41

exemplary play group.

00:48

I think people value,

00:48

in a toddler group, a really warm welcome.

00:51

That it's obviously quite a daunting thing,

00:52

when you walk into a group for a new time,

00:54

and for the first time,

00:56

that there's someone there to greet you,

00:57

to explain the situation,

00:59

explain how the morning or the afternoon runs,

01:02

and just to make you feel welcome into a new environment.

01:06

You get to know other parents,

01:08

and I pretty much know all the children's names as well.

01:11

And it's a great opportunity for evangelism.

01:13

We can just chat to people,

01:14

and they're actually in a church environment thinking,

01:16

"They've made us feel welcome."

01:18

"This is nice."

01:18

"And these people seem quite normal, this is fun."

01:20

That, I think, that's essential.

01:22

The other thing that was really striking was

01:24

the warmth of the welcome.

01:26

How genuinely interested Lucy,

01:28

and the other ladies that we met,

01:30

seemed to be in myself and in my daughters.

01:33

Everyone made an effort to talk,

01:35

not just to me, but to my girls as well,

01:38

which I thought was a really nice touch.

01:39

The fact that it's so friendly,

01:42

it makes the Bible accessible,

01:44

and I really like the fact that my children can come along

01:46

and hear Bible stories,

01:48

as well as just socialising with little people,

01:52

and I get to come along,

01:53

have a nice cup of tea with my friends too.

01:55

We love the fact that it's really interactive,

01:56

and great fun.

01:58

You like the craft at the end.

02:03

I think the greatest thing for any church to do

02:05

is to be praying for the group to get behind them,

02:08

even though not the whole church can be here every day,

02:11

they can pray.

02:12

I think this one's different and it really stands out,

02:14

because of the warmth of the people here.

02:16

You can't forget that.

02:17

I know I've spoken about it quite a lot,

02:19

but the fact that everyone is warm, and genuine,

02:21

and interested,

02:22

makes a huge difference.

02:24

It almost makes you want to have another child, but--

02:27

I think my other half

02:29

would have something to say about that.

February 2020
From
Evangelical Alliance
Topics
Early years
Children
Community events / engagement
Families

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