India (MNN) — When school finishes for the summer, many children in India don’t have another place to go while their parents work. During this time when so many things can go wrong, Mission India’s 10-Day Children’s Bible Club steps in to give kids a safe, exciting environment where they can learn about Jesus.
Regan Miller with Mission India tells us, “The kids are drawn to the Bible club because it’s fun, it’s engaging. It’s not like sitting down in a class.”
Miller says Bible club is like Vacation Bible School to the extreme, since it goes for 10 full days over the course of two weeks, morning to evening. Children learn fun Bible-based skits, Bible stories, and songs with motions and dance moves to it, and more.
“We partner with local Christians who are in India and from the area to run these 10-Day Bible clubs. That’s especially exciting because that means after the 10-Day Bible club ends, that leader is still a part of the community and able to pour into those kids lives for the long term,” Miller says.
While persecution is a serious issue in India, Bible clubs are often an exception. A community may not welcome a church, but they see the good that a Bible club does in keeping kids out of trouble in the summer.
“Even if they’re against Christianity, a lot of times they’ll allow the Bible club to run and not oppose it, because they see the good that it’s doing,” Miller says.
(Photo of Jamia courtesy of Mission India)
Jamia is one girl whose life was turned around through Bible club. She was largely shunned by her community because of an eye condition she has. When she learned about Jesus for the first time in her life, she blossomed into a bright, confident girl with a heart for serving others.
“When Jesus came into her [Jamia’s] life, it changed her confidence. It changed the way she viewed herself. It changed what potential she saw in her own life. It changed her family life, changed everything,” Miller says.
“We’re so excited about how much something can change a child when they hear about Jesus over the course of 10 days.”
(Read more of Jamia’s story here.)
You can join Mission India in reaching more children like Jamia this summer through their special matching challenge. From now until April 30, gifts will be doubled up to $250,000.
The incredible thing is that it costs only $1 for a child to be part of a 10-Day Bible Club.
“We’re excited to open up the invitation for people to reach out to more kids like Jamia so that they can have this awesome summer experience with Jesus,” Miller says.
Visit Mission India’s website to join the matching challenge here.
Header photo courtesy of Mission India.
