Question: How do kids encounter God? Answer: There actually isn’t any one obvious answer to this question.

Kids, like adults, all think and do life differently and when we run our Encounter God Sundays at Kids Church, we try to plan activities that will allow children to find their own way to the space that fits them best.

By the way, I should say first of all, that encountering God is not just a one-off Sunday event held a couple of times a year. We know that we can encounter God anytime, anywhere – when we are with others or by ourselves. Our specific Encounter God Sundays are a way of helping our children to focus on different ways of doing this.

This past Sunday, the older kids from Dive and Surf (Grade 2 to Grade 6) met together in the Halls where they were able to participate in a wide variety of activities focusing on Easter. They could do all the things on offer or just one. Many children lined up to be prayed for in the Prayer Tent and while they waited, there were many one-on-one chats with leaders. Children were able to go through Stations of the Cross and think about all that Jesus did for us. Others made beautiful clay models of the open tomb to take home as reminders of God’s love.

While all this was going on in the Halls, the Kindy to Grade 1 kids were having their own special morning in the Jump Room. The focus in this room was also on the events of Easter, but it was just a little louder than in the Halls. The children in this age group love action-based activities and can’t sit still for too long. So, that’s what we planned with a beautiful Palm Sunday Hosanna March around the room to praise music, a chalk drawn empty cross featuring a large heart, the story of Easter told through Resurrection Eggs (yes, they all got to take an egg box home which they could use to tell the story to their families!). For their final activity, they all made an edible Open Tomb Garden scene proclaiming that Jesus is Risen! By the looks on their faces and their eager chats with parents, the children had a wonderful morning. They were encouraged to pass the Good News story on to others.