"I Want to Live There"

At a restaurant yesterday I saw one of our Bible Center families. The mom had been in the new building at Southridge the day before for nursery staff training. She was so excited about what she saw she brought her family back that afternoon to walk through it with her. Her parents, husband, and kids all shared with me how much they loved what they saw.

You could hear the enthusiasm in their voices, see it in their faces, and observe it in their body language. I asked the kids what they thought of the children's area on level one. Their 8-year-old daughter quickly looked up at me and sweetly, but boldly declared: "I want to live there!" If every child gets that excited about the children's ministry area designed for them, children will be waking their parents up early each Sunday to get to Bible Center.

What a thought! Kids eagerly anticipating the environment of safe, clean, fun where they will learn about the good news of Jesus Christ and learn to walk in His Word. Reaching young families for Christ just as they are setting patterns for their home can make an impact on more than one generation. Finding fresh, creative ways to communicate the never-changing message of God's Word to the next generation before they are tainted with the world's temptations is critical.

I really hope that every boy and girl who enters Bible Center boldly declares: "I want to live there!" Even more, I hope each of them will clearly hear how much God loves them in Jesus!