Creative ways to love our neighbours
THE CHURCH
Gateway Church, London, Ont.
THE CHALLENGE
Building relationships with youth and their families in inner city London
THE IDEA
School field trip activities and fun for middle school students held at church
THE COST
$900 to feed 100 people
Executive pastor Matthew Koopman explains:
The heart behind this outreach came from a connection we had with one of the teachers at Forest City Public School (fomerly F. D. Roosevelt Elementary), a school close to our church. She has a heart for the kids in that community, actively investing in their lives beyond just education. We offered our church building and partnered with the teacher to produce a day that is fun and meaningful for the kids. Our day includes games, food and fun at our church for Grades 6, 7 and 8 students on a P.A. Day, which is a day off school when some students might not have something to do.
On the day of the outreach, students started arriving at our church for 9:30 a.m. by bus. About a hundred people came between children, teachers and staff. We spent the morning going through stations of team-building activities run by several of our pastors. One of the activities was a game where teams work together to get across the floor without touching the floor. Teams also had to build a structure with various items they were given. The tallest structure won. We hosted a chicken dinner for the students and teachers in the afternoon, which allowed us to build some great connections.
Gateway Church hosted local middle school kids on a P.A. Day, building relationships with youth and their families. PHOTOS: GATEWAY CHURCH
The opportunity came to us. We were just willing to step into the risk and go there.
For anyone considering doing something like this, I would advise them to carefully follow open doors God gives them. We didn’t really go looking to do this. The opportunity came to us.
We were just willing to step into the risk and go there. Always start with relationship. We were meant to just build relationships, create friendships and let God write the rest of the story for us. I believe the P.A. Day opportunity is something every church could consider. We have resources such as our church spaces and financial resources for families that schools could benefit from.
Watch Church in Community on FaithToday.tv. Do you have a story to share about your church’s community outreach? Contact us at editor@FaithToday.ca. Read more stories in this series at FaithToday.ca/CIC. Photo: Bethel Pentecostal Tabernacle. This story has been revised from the original, which carried the former name of the school and referred to the day as a P.A. day instead of a field trip day.