On Tuesday, July 12th, Grace Kids hosted its first park program night at Schellin Park. We are so excited about this new ministry opportunity for our community. The project is being led by Grace Kids intern, Jared Poorman, and allows kids to learn about Jesus on their level. Jared and several volunteers went door to door around the community to spread the word about the program. To find out more about the park program and all of the excitement surrounding it, we sat down with Jared to ask a few questions.
Q: This week was the first night of the Grace Kids park program. What is the park program and the mission behind it?
Jared: To get right to it, the mission and heart behind the park program is to give kids the opportunity to meet Jesus in a simple, safe and fun environment.
Q: That’s awesome. Can you tell us a little about what happened on Tuesday?
Jared: Well, we had 11 kids from our community that showed up. It was really amazing that none of them were from our church, or have a church they call their own. All 11 kids heard about Jesus, most likely for the very first time. They sang songs, played games, did a craft and heard a Bible lesson with a skit.
Q: What was their Bible lesson about?
Jared: It came from Acts 10:34. We explained that God sees everyone equally; regardless of where they’re from, what they look like, how much money they have or what they’ve done. The kids were taught that God is for everybody – including them.
Q: I’ve heard you had a pretty cool craft for the kids, care to explain it a little?
Jared: During craft time, the kids used Gospel beads and string to make a cross explaining the Gospel. Each colored bead represented a different stage. The cross starts with a black bead on top, which stands for sin. Following the black bead is a row with a red one for Jesus’ blood, a white bead for Jesus cleansing us, and a yellow bead for eternal life in Heaven. The bottom of the cross has a blue bead, standing for baptism and a green bead for growth in Christ. The kids really enjoyed this activity and were able to take it home with them to remember all God has done.
Q: When is the park program happening again?
Jared: We will be meeting again at Schellin Park next Tuesday, July 19th and again on Tuesday, July 26th. The program runs from 6-7:30pm, but we have a volunteer meeting at 5:00. If you would like more information or are interested in volunteering, please contact me at