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*Heather Givens is our Children's Ministry Intern, holding down the fort during Rachael Oswald's maternity leave.

I am so happy to share with you the blessings God has poured out on the children’s ministry this summer. In the Scriptures, children are a model of how the people of God should approach the throne. That idea led to our June missions “hang out,” which started off the summer by showing others the love and kindness that Jesus has shown us. A group of our 1st-5th graders joined over a dozen Atlanta Children’s Shelter kids in playing games, learning Bible lessons, and working on crafts. Some of the children asked why we were doing this. The answer was easy—because we love Jesus. The message I stressed is that we love those whom Christ loved, and we follow after His example. Jesus said in Matthew 10 that whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water shall not lose his reward. This Scripture reminds us of the priority children have in the eyes of our Lord, and it motivated us as followers of Christ to meet the needs of the children around us, beginning with those in the shelter.

The Wednesday night Bible study, hosted in the Buxton home, has been a truly refreshing breeze of God’s love as expressed through His Word and His people. Christ has showered His grace on us throughout this Bible study time. On the first night, a girl decided to ask Jesus to become her Savior. Throughout the summer, kids from all over the Atlanta area have come to our study. I am not sure if it’s the food or the fellowship, but one thing is for sure: God is in control! A dear saint, Gay Buxton prayed each night of the Bible study that God would speak through me and that God would bless all who came. We saw how God blessed her prayers, because each week without fail the discussions proceeded nonstop about God and His Word and life.

I know that God, who is rich in mercy and love, will continue to bless the children’s ministry of North Avenue. I leave you with a Scripture that I hold so close to my heart because I believe it is a challenge to the church concerning our young people. Matthew 18:4 tells us, “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives Me.”