CHILDREN’S HOLIDAY CLUBS

Every summer we stage a ‘Kids Holiday Club’, which caters for children aged 6-11. Since our first club in 1998 we have built up contact with over 130 families, and we can now expect up to 100 children to pass through our doors over the 5 days (an average of about 70 each day). In 2004 we were particularly busy, hosting an additional 2-day children’s club in April with the title ‘THE HUMBLING OF THE EASTER BUNNY’. The theme for the week in July 2004 was ‘ICE AGE’, and following the Parents’ ‘Get-Together’ on the Friday evening, it was great to welcome Tim Buckley as our guest speaker at our Guest Service on the Sunday!

FAMILY EVENTS

To maintain contact with these local families throughout the year, we also invite the children to bring their parents to a Saturday event in December, where we provide activities for the children and open a café area for parents. This provides a number of opportunities to chat onetoone, and personal invitations to our Christmas Guest Services are always well received.

ACTS2 JUNIORS

We encourage the older end of ‘Holiday Club’ youngsters to get involved on a weekly basis through ACTS2 Juniors. A2J was re-launched in January 2005 as a more focused ‘Little People Church’ where kids aged 9-12 could come along and experience church aimed and designed entirely for them. We have been building this ‘community’ for three months now and the fruit in the lives of these youngsters has been awesome.

ACTS2 YOUTH CHURCH

All of the above are run with the continuing support and leading of the ACTS2Youth Church – a growing community of young people which has developed over recent years from its humble beginnings as the Youth Group at WEC. Dozens of young people take a leading role with the  children, who relate to them as older siblings rather than a parent or teacher figure, and so they are fantastic at building relationships - they also provide the much-needed energy! Children and family events are very much joint ventures between the Adult Church and the Youth Church.

THE CAUSE YOUTH PROJECT & YEAR TEAM

TheYearTeam runs within The CauseYouth Project (which umbrellas ACTS2) and is now in its second year. They have managed to set up effective Christian Unions in 3 of the 4 secondary schools in Weston, and have also gained experience in lessons, assemblies, lunchtime walkarounds, football, basketball and music groups. They have been consistently trained, equipped and discipled along the way, both internally and at Müller’s Practical Theology course, which has led to a wonderful personal growth on both a spiritual and emotional level. ‘Year Team Three’ launches in September 2005 with the hope that God will bless more and more.

LOOKING AHEAD

As we look ahead, part of our vision at WEC is to widen our effectiveness as a Family Church. We are continuing to look at other ways we can reach parents and the wider family, as well as children and young people, on a more regular basis. As we seek to strengthen the way in which WEC, ACTS2 and Müllers work in partnership together, we are excited by both the responsibility and opportunity that God has given to reach out to those around us for His glory!!