Alex Paul
Jennifer Hill pushes the Holy Bible forward and tells the four-month-old baby to “pat the Bible…”
His blue eyes shining, the youngster lurches ahead and slaps the book’s cover.
The two communicate God’s message, Mrs. Hill believes, just as youngsters are exploring their new world and soaking up new experiences.
“God made chickens, peep, peep, peep,” Mrs. Hill tells the youngster, handing him a stuffed animal toy. “Babies learn so much in those first years. We don’t want to miss an opportunity to learn about God from the start.”
Sunday, youngsters were celebrated at the Holley Christian Church as the congregation cut the ribbon for a $125,000 children’s wing.
Thus, it was fitting, that children from four months to teenagers, were busy learning about God before the 10:30 a.m. service. Now, instead of being crowded into the church basement, the youngsters enjoyed playing and learning in rooms decorated with fresh paint and wallpaper. Doubled layers of padding under the new carpeting make any spills among the toddlers incidents and not accidents.
As adults enter the main church preparing for the service, Mrs. Hill and other volunteers are busy working on repetition for their students.
“We have four classes of 13 weeks each,” Mrs. Hill said. “The older kids have six week sessions. All of the training is very hands on.”
Lori McKinnon’s two children are here this day, one two years old and other four months.
“I think it’s amazing, especially for my older son,” she said. “When we go somewhere, he says ‘Mommy, God made that…God made everything and God made me.'”
Di Wilson works with the church toddlers and said the children “get to know the people in the Bible.”
“I see so much growth in them,” she said.
Mrs. Hill added that even the babies get used to simulations. For example, when they talk about God making rain, they place a drop of water on the baby’s hand with a eye dropper.
“They get to where they know the water’s coming and they reach their hand out,” she said.
Mrs. Hill was involved in a similar project at the family’s church in Idaho before moving here two years ago.
“I’m passionate about this program,” she said. “The older kids get into it and start teaching the younger ones. The older kids want to go to Sunday School.”
Pastor Kevin Hill said planning for the youth addition had begun before he arrived in June 2001.
“We added about 2,000 square feet,” Pastor Hill said. “Josh Darwood was our contractor and he worked with many volunteers from the church.”
In addition to the new classrooms and two new bathrooms, the entire church was re carpeted and three heat pumps installed. New lighting was installed as well.
“We repainted almost everything,” Pastor Hill said.
During the Sunday morning service, the churches praise band played Christian rock and the congregation followed along with words on an overhead screen via Power Point equipment, also new.
“Today we celebrate a legacy of love at this church,” Pastor Hill said. “March 30 we had a blessing day for the new wing and we wrote blessings on the floor before we put down the new carpet. One said, ‘Four our beautiful children, grow, learn and love the Lord here.'”