Charis McConnell, a volunteer with SU Local Mission Partner Southampton City Mission, has started a ‘Grow Community’ at a local non-faith primary school. She shares what it looks like, why she’s so passionate about it – and why patience is a great virtue!
Charis already visits the school several times a year with Southampton City Mission to do ‘Question of Faith’ days linked to the curriculum. ‘We are limited in what we can say in class,’ Charis says, ‘But the children often have lots of questions and I have little time on the day to help them find the answers. I longed to be able to do more to bring God’s love into their lives.
‘So when I went to SU’s Faith Guide training, it felt like an answer to prayer. I asked the school if I could start a group to help children explore faith and the Bible in a fun and relaxed setting. The school was really enthusiastic! I even dropped to working a four-day week so I had time to run it. The vicar and curate from the nearest church are supportive and sometimes come in to help.’
"So when I went to SU’s Faith Guide training, it felt like an answer to prayer"
The Grow Community started with six children in autumn 2021 and word soon spread. ‘Now we have 21 children and a waiting list!’ says Charis. ‘So far as I know, only one child is from a Christian home and the others know very little about Christianity so you’re starting from a very low understanding!
‘How do you explain prayer, for example? I said you think a thought in your head and send it to God and say “Amen”. The children thought you always had to pray for others, so we reassured them it was OK to pray for yourself too. They didn’t want to pray out loud; instead, they say a prayer in their head and stick a coloured dot on a “prayer tray”. Now the prayer dots are layers deep. Each week we pick it up and say “These are all the things you’ve talked to God about” and they get really excited!
A massive breakthrough
‘I normally do say a prayer out loud at the end of the session. Today, we had a massive breakthrough: One lad – the one I’d least expect – came up and asked if he could say a prayer out loud! He told us all to close our eyes, and he put his hands together and prayed this moving prayer about memory loss, something I guess must be affecting someone he loves. He said to God, “Can you step in and make people better like you do in the Bible?” and then he listed three of the recent stories we’d explored about healing. And he said, “If they can’t remember me, can they please at least remember God?” Oh my!
‘God did warn me it would be baby steps, much smaller than I even imagined. I asked God if I was going too slow, but today it was like he was saying “See?”
‘The children themselves named the club “Believe Club” and refer to themselves as The Believers. We’ve been learning about Jesus for nearly a year – they know he loves them, is always there for them, and wants to have a relationship with them. In the next few weeks, I plan to explain that they might already think of themselves as being Christians, but if they want to be sure, they can choose to pray a prayer saying that they want to follow Jesus.’
More about Grow Communities
Grow Communities are all about helping children and young people flourish in their faith in ways that work for them. They are peer-shaped and adult-guided groups with the children and young people setting the agenda along with their Faith Guides. Each and every Grow Community will be different, as they’re built with and around the children or young people they’re serving!
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