Prior to the Bible Club’s Christmas break, the 1st grade classroom talked about how Jesus is like a present, wrapped in God’s love. The classroom leader explained to the young students how important it is to ask Jesus into our hearts and be with our families over the holidays. The following are quotes from first grade students after their lesson:

“At Bible Club, I learned that Jesus is the best Christmas gift.” –Bible Club Student

“I am going to tell my family that Jesus is our savior and that he died for our sins.” – Honesty, Bible Club Student

The 2nd grade classroom is filled with energy and excitement every Tuesday evening at Bible Club. This young group of students is the opposite of shy when it comes to speaking in front of the class. Although filled with energy, the 2nd grade students did a wonderful job praying to their Heavenly Father.

After the classroom leader, Sherri, explained to the students that God’s people can pray anywhere and about anything, the students were asked to circle up for prayer. Zodell, a 2nd grade student, prayed about being sad because his dad died, but Zodell asked God to be with him. Karis, a 2nd grade girl, prayed that her aunt would come to know God. When the prayers were finished, Sherri gathered the students together and told them how excited God is to hear their prayers. She also reminded the 2nd graders that it is acceptable to pray anywhere, at anytime, and about anything. God loves to hear His children pray.

At City Impact we believe in our youth. We believe like all people, that they were created in the Lord's image and that they are destined to do great things as kingdom laborers! We love getting our youth involved with the planning and development of our programs! We also value equipping our youth with the skills they need to succeed.

It isn't always easy to expect great things from kids and teens, especially when they don't see in themselves all the wonderful things you do. This year we have really witnessed some awesome moments though, as our youth discover the strengths and gifts they have to offer the world.

One way we have witnessed this is through our teen volunteers who help out at Bible Club! Tyree, who has grown up through Bible Club and is now a 9th grader at the ILA, is a strong leader with our younger kids. He helps run and develop worship, leads small group studies with 2nd graders, and helps set up and lead activity based bible studies!

Crystal is another ILA teen who has been part of the City Impact Family for a long time. She is so fun to watch at Bible Club because she really raises the bar with the 4th graders she volunteers with. She helps them cultivate a culture of kindness and love by having high expectations for them.

Tyree & Crystal are just two of the dozen or so teens who volunteer at Bible Club. The Lord has transformed their hearts and they are now Christ's ambassadors, bringing Jesus to our younger students!