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.
00:27
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
"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,
01:58
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,
02:12
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,
02:22
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.
