Little Day Out Overseas was an opportunity for pre-school children to come together and explore the journey of Abraham through story, music and other activities. Like all Little Day Out events, the aim is to teach these younger members of the church family a truth about God in a way that is suitable to them.
Ruth Bromley, PCI’s Children’s Development Officer, explains, “Our aim is to pilot these events and then make the resources available so that congregations can replicate them for themselves.
“It is so easy to see ministry with these little ones as unnecessary as they are not yet old enough to understand about God and the Bible, but that simply is not true. The youngest of children are made in God’s image, just as we are, they have gifts and talents given by God and it is our responsibility to see it as important to help them develop into fully devoted followers of Jesus.
“Little Days Out are one way that we model how to do this and encourage others to think about what they can do to reach the tiniest of children in our congregations and communities.”
This year’s Little Day Out Overseas event took place on Thursday, 12th October at Second Saintfield Presbyterian Church. All who came along enjoyed a fun morning as they discovered God’s promise to Abraham as he went on a long journey; finishing off with lunch for the children and refreshments for the adults. However, a key aspect to Little Day Out Overseas is that it is not simply a one-off event to attend and then forget.
“We want the children and parents to take home truths about God that they can remember and hold on to,” said Ruth.
“This year the children learnt about the story of Abraham and how God was faithful to His promises. One of those promises was that he would have a son and that this would be the start of his family becoming as numerous as the stars. We learnt that there was another baby promised and born who was Jesus and He was the Saviour of the world.
“We are the Big Family of God is one of the songs we taught the children and if they can remember one part of that it will be amazing. But even if all they learnt was that some people in a church did some activities and it was fun, and that they felt loved – that’s a good start too! Hopefully they will come back and learn more about who God is over time.”
Lisa Skinner, a parent who attended Little Day Out Overseas with her two-year-old daughter said, “My daughter thoroughly enjoyed her Little Day Out, she learnt about Abraham and God’s promise to bless him and his family as she listened, sang and created over the course of the morning. She left singing “We’re part of the big family of God”, definitely a seed or two planted!”
Resources and information to help you hold a Little Day Out event in your own congregation, including stories, craft and music ideas are available in the Little Resources section here.