During Vacation Bible School this summer, we had three little girls come from the community. Two of them were in my class, and one was in a younger class. They loved VBS and expressed a desire to come to Bible study. We made contact with the mother, and she was agreeable to having someone pick them up every Sunday and Wednesday.
These girls had been attending a denominational church with their mother before the pandemic, but they had not returned since things opened up. They seemed to love class and worship, and we have been hopeful that we could get the mother and father to start attending.
Because the children are from a blended family, there has been the interruption of other family members wanting to do things with one or more of the girls. School has started, and that has interfered with their Wednesday evening attendance. As you might guess, they have stopped coming. Mom wants them to attend, but we haven’t been able to get her to come with them.
My precious little great niece knew the younger girl, and she did everything to welcome her. She sat with her in class and during worship. One day I told her that what she was doing was personal work. She was surprised that she could do personal work, something she thought was just for grown-ups.
One of the girls in my class is friends with one of the other girls, and she has been disturbed by the fact that the girls have quite attending. She told me a few weeks ago that she asks her often why she doesn’t come back. The girl tells her that she is ok even if she doesn’t attend all the time. She says as long as she believes in Jesus, she is ok. I was very proud of the answer from her friend. She said, “Oh, no! You have so much to learn. There are so many more stories in the Bible we need to know. You need to come to class so you can learn them.”
What a great start these two girls have on being personal workers. They both love Bible class, and they love the Bible. They want others to love those things too. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all had that attitude about seeking the lost and inviting people to worship with us?
Sandra Oliver