Where was Rob this weekend?
For many years a number of children and young people from our Church have been on Venture holidays run by the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS). In the past year CPAS have been trialling taster Venture holidays, lasting just a weekend, targeted at school children. Their vision is both, to provide children with an opportunity to explore the claims of the Christian faith in the context of a fun, activity packed weekend; and to help links between school children, their families and their local churches. Leicester was chosen as one of the pilots for these holidays and so on Friday morning, with Jackie Wainwright from Church and Mr Dooley from the school I set off to the Frontier Centre in Northamptonshire in a minibus with seven 8-9 year old children from Rothley. At the Centre we were met by children of a similar age from Bosworth and Thurnby Schools, together with a core team of leaders assembled by CPAS.
From the moment of arrival an action packed programme unfolded of games, challenges, bushcraft, archery, campfire, wide game and four sessions looking at ‘The case of the Empty Tomb.’ The Children met The Boss, Detective Sceptic and Detective Undercover and in their teams looked at evidence, did activities related to the theme, songs, drama and discussions. Did Jesus really Die? Are we certain the tomb was empty? Can we sure that Jesus was seen alive? How would you explain the empty tomb? By Sunday afternoon we were all tired out and drove back to Rothley to return the children to their families.
The weekend, though unseasonably cold and wet, was a great opportunity to sow the seed of the gospel in the lives of the children. What comes of that will only unfold in the years that lie ahead. We will meet with CPAS in a couple of weeks to review the weekend and make plans for next year. Please pray for the children, some of whom are facing significant challenges at a tender age.
by Rob Gladstone, 2nd May 2018
