The New Beginnings Covenant Brethren Church in Midlothian, PA, has a couple of programs going that I saw as I read through their newsletter. I felt I wanted to share these with the larger church. This church sees God bless its body with growth and development, and I believe it is partly because they are thinking outside the box and willing to try some things as the Holy Spirit leads.
The first program that I found interesting is one they are calling GEMS (Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior) This Fall they officially began their GEMS Club! They have an amazing team led by Julie Norris. Ann Marie, Patsy, and Julia make up the rest of the team! They are excited and have averaged about 10 moms and daughters over the summer! Their main goal is to introduce Jesus to all who come and disciple them into a deeper relationship with Him. Their main goal is that our Lord be glorified through these efforts!! We think this is a great program idea that other churches could look into.
The second idea they are doing is one I was involved in as an elementary school child many years ago. The Good News Club is an international ministry that has over 84,000 clubs worldwide. They have seen nearly 4.5 million children reached for Christ and have offered training for over 577,000 teachers of their program. This is a great weekly program for churches that are within walking proximity to a local elementary school or where transportation can be arranged to the church. It is an after-school ministry that usually runs an hour to an hour and a half. They have been held in churches, homes, community centers, and even within the school itself and have seen amazing success. For more information on this ministry go to https://www.cefonline.com/ministries/goodnewsclub/. There you can sign up for teacher training and more. I applaud New Beginnings for stepping out in these two great ministries and I would encourage other churches to take a look at them.
Craig Howard
