BRANDON CHURCH CHILDREN ON FIRE FOR JESUS

by Mary Rogers
Children’s Week of Prayer
“Both services? I am on fire!” replied 10-year-old Josiah Gonzalez when asked to preach at Brandon Church. His sermon was a small segment in a Children’s Week of Prayer focused on Fruits of the Spirit. Fifty children, ranging in age from three to 12, participated in the week-long program.
The children were trained to memorize and recite scripture, lead praise and worship, perform special music, introduce speakers, call for and collect the offering, tell the children’s story, seek the Lord in prayer, and deliver a sermon. Daynette Sleem, a mom of two young children, introduced her vision for this ministry because she is passionate about giving children an opportunity to share Christ from the pulpit.
The culminating Sabbath programs contained longer versions of the nightly meetings, a special introduction by Pastor Rex Frost, and music performed by the children’s choir. The celebrating continued with a potluck luncheon featuring Fruit of the Spirit table decorations and fruit-flavored lollipops.
Following lunch, the children led their families into surrounding neighborhoods to talk with people and distribute REAL Magazine. Each magazine contained a postcard explaining the various church ministries available to children in the community.
“Our Sabbath School classes and Children’s Church are tremendous training grounds for this event,” says Mary Rogers, Children’s Ministries leader.
1,000 Cupcakes Become an Answer To Prayer
“Let’s have our own Cupcake Wars and take 1,000 cupcakes to migrant workers,” suggested 13-year-old Allison Rogers.
A group from Brandon Church volunteered to help at Good Samaritan Mission in Wimauma—an outreach for migrant workers. The event organizer was concerned she didn’t have dessert for the meal they were planning and had prayed about what to provide.
With Allison’s enthusiasm for the Cupcake Wars television show on Food Network, her idea of making 1,000 cupcakes soon caught on, and four mother/daughter teams met at the church for many hours to bake, fill, and frost cupcakes. The migrant workers ate all 1,000 cupcakes, and the volunteers were invited back and encouraged to make it an annual event.
During the same event, Brandon Church teens serving in Children’s Ministries provided a puppet ministry while kids and parents waited their turns for services offered by the Mission such as dental cleaning, immunizations, eye exams, back to school supplies, and tickets for food.