Making Something Out of Nothing

I was so excited to see how full the 4^th grade classroom was on Tuesday evening at Bible Club. Making the switch from Middle Cross to First Baptist provided an easy transition for students into their new classrooms for the new year. Not only was I excited to see the familiar faces of past students I was even more excited to see the faces of new students!

The lesson for the night for all Bible Club classes was “God is creator.” So, each classroom did a different activity to teach the material to the students. In the 4^th grade room, the students were split into three small groups and were then told that they had 30 seconds to make something out of nothing!

It was fun to see the students trying to use their hands and arms to create their “something”. When the 30 seconds was up the teachers asked the students if it was hard to make something out of nothing, and the students agreed that it was. Next each group was given a bag of items and they were told that they had 10 minutes to create something. At the end of the 10 minutes each group presented what they had worked together to create. One group created a flower with a stand, another group created their own version of Sponge Bob and the last group each presented something they had made individually.

After each group shared what they had created, they all got into their groups and read Psalm 8 together and from there discussed questions. As I have stated before I think it is such a wonderful thing that the students at City Impact have the opportunity to be in the word together. They talked about why God is good, and one student said that he is good because he created everything. They also went around and said what their favorite thing God had created is, I was able to catch what one particular group of students said. Keanu said his favorite thing is our legs so we can walk, Ronesha said her grandma, Orelia said “cars so we don’t have to walk”, and Corion said pizza is his favorite thing which God created.

I was elated to see how involved the students were in the discussions. As I was in the room listening to all the talking, I overheard Mrs. Mikki talk to her group about how we don’t know how exactly how God created the things in the beginning. While she was talking, I suddenly heard Amara say to her group “God is God, it would take him 2 seconds to make your father”. Hehe! I thought it was so neat to see Amara talking about our Creator in that way and putting so much faith in how powerful he is!

Meet Damian

Damian is a new 1^st grader to City Impacts Bible Club, his soft spirit and oh so cute voice can charm anyone. Damian’s birthday is on July 4 and when I asked him what was special about that day his eyes lit up and he said “fireworks!” He has 2 sisters and his favorite food is chicken. Damian’s favorite color is red and his favorite thing to do in the summer is ride his bike. I asked Damian to tell me what he thought about God and all the things he has created and very seriously he responded with this “It’s a good thing!” Damian will be a 1^st grader at Clinton elementary this year and one thing he is really god at is riding a bike, and he doesn’t even have to use training wheels!

Grand Opening

Tuesday August 11 was marked down in City Impacts history as a very special day; a day which will change the ins and outs of how Bible Club and ILA program look.

For quite a few years, City Impact had the opportunity to host the Bible Club and ILA programming at Middle Cross Church (also known as Central Alliance). As we know, our plans are not always God’s plan and within the past year City Impact received news that they would no longer be able to use Middle Cross as their place for hosting Bible Club and ILA. After a long process of seeing where God was going to lead them in the search for a new building, God led us to First Baptist Church here in Lincoln.

On Tuesday August 11th, First Baptist opened up its doors and City Impact welcomed new and many old families to the Grand Opening. Being in the position I am at City Impact allows for me to just sit back and observe the flow of things, especially when events take place. This night was filled with tours of the student’s new classrooms, great food, and a live magician.

Mrs. Ashley had approached me a few days prior to the Grand Opening event and presented an idea, this idea would consist of me taking family photos of all the families who attended the Grand Opening that evening. I was so excited and agreed to do it. When the time came on Tuesday, I set up my backdrop stand and my tripod and began to snap away. Taking the pictures was such a great idea and we plan to give each family a copy of the photograph.

During the evenings activities I was able to observe many students and their families having a great time, it is truly a wonderful thing to witness first hand what God is doing through City Impact.

Pre/K Thoughts about Bible Club

Hear from the Preschool/Kindergarten Class, as they tell you what their favorite thing about City Impact is:

Kiara- Says “I like class, cause its fun and I like the show…you know all that stuff.” (I think when she says “show” she is referring to worship!

Olivia- “Singing worship for God.”

Miriah- “I love Jesus”

Grace and Avery both said “singing for Jesus”.

It sounds like the Pre/K class enjoys singing and dancing for Jesus every week at Worship!

Jasmine's Summer Camp Highlights

Every year, City Impact kids attend Kids Across America Camp or KAA! This is a very high energy camp for urban youth around the nation. They play sports, stay in cabins, keep extremely busy with different outdoor adventure courses and activities, and experience spiritual growth through fellowship, bible study, and hype worship!

I had the opportunity to ask Jasmine (who is a 5th grader at Bible Club) to write me up a little bit about her highlights from Kids Across America (KAA) camp this summer. This is what she wrote:

“I learned to work out of the darkness and I learned to follow Jesus and trust him. And the best part was when the counselors dressed up kind of goofy and made like funny sounds. I like the last day they had vespers (large award & talent show) and we went to the forest and they gave prizes and champion locker prizes.”

1st Graders- Random Acts of Kindness

I popped into the first grade room on Tuesday evening and was sweetly surprised at what Mrs. Jamie had them doing! They had just finished up reading a book which went along with their lesson talking about encouraging others. Mrs. Jamie pulled a pamphlet out of her bag, and she went on to tell the first grade class that they were going to write encouraging cards to “wounded warriors”.

The children were very intrigued and began to ask questions about these wounded warriors and where they were and where they came from. Mrs. Jamie explained that these warriors are men who have fought in the war and are currently in a hospital in Washington. Mrs. Jamie went on to ask the children why they should send the warriors cards and they all agreed that it would be encouraging to them. They all got up to the table and began to work on their cards, and what talent they all have. They are quite the artists! Mrs. Jamie plans to send on these cards to these wounded men in hopes that they may be encouraged.