Hope you all enjoyed the ‘Big Week Out’! We had four really
nice mornings out (to Astley Park, White Coppice, Worden Park and Ainsdale
Beach), where we had games and a little bible story for the kids, and a chance
to hang out together. Slightly fewer people came along than in the previous
couple of years. We are aware of some of the reasons for that. But there can be
much greater value in a small group on an outing than a massive ‘holiday club’,
which some of us have done in the past. Here’s a few of the benefits …
First, we really get to know people as families. In our
experience, the big ‘holiday club’ is used by many people as a free or cheap
baby-sitting service. People are glad to send their kids to church for a week,
where they have lots of fun, so they can carry on with work without having to
pay for child care. There is no doubt value in teaching the gospel to the
children in this way; but we have the greater ambition of spending time with
parents, too.
Second, the larger the number of people, the less opportunity
there is to get to know any well. We have been learning the value of a smaller
church in many ways over the last few years, and it is perhaps seen most during
a week like this. The gospel is communicated through relationships. And there
is no substitute for spending plenty of time with people. That is how we build
one another up, and introduce others to the church.
Third, the Big Week Out is so repeatable. A bigger operation
needs a huge amount of preparation and a massive workforce to run it. The
hoped-for returns of that are perhaps that a few might be better disposed
towards the church, and maybe even one or two will start attending off the back
of it. Our Big Week Out involved plenty of people from church - at least
praying, and offering car spaces. But it needed very little preparation or money.
It is the sort of thing we can be doing all the time - days out with friends,
with perhaps a little chat about Jesus along the way. What could be more
valuable, and with so little hassle?
So - Wellfield Church - keep those days out happening!
