Bible Study
Urban Connections’ Bible clubs began in 1999 as an off-spring of the VBS we had in the summer. Our leaders use games, activities, crafts, stories, acting and music to teach the kids about Jesus Christ. These nights are extremely popular, drawing kids from all over the neighborhood – some kids even keep coming after their families have moved. KidZone Bible studies happen on Monday and Tuesday nights, and the time includes dinner for kids of the appropriate age-group. Monday nights are when our Kindergarten-2nd graders meet, and Tuesdays are when our 3rd-5th graders meet. Click here for the schedule.
Teen Nights
Teen Nights have become one of our best attended evenings. Middle school students come on Wednesdays and High school students come on Thursdays. These are similar to the Kidz Connections, but have a much more in-depth discussion time. We have, in past years, studied the books of Romans and John, as well as topics like grace and women in the Bible. We have seen incredible growth and openness from these teens, even when it means that they admit they aren’t ready to commit their lives to Christ. While sharing all the grace and love with them that we can, we also make sure they know that this is a serious commitment that should impact the rest of their lives. We also encourage our teens to get involved in the local church body with us.
Outings
Each month we have special outings. The goal of these is to get the kids out of the neighborhood, out of their comfort zone, and maybe teach them something useful. This can also create a special time for the staff and volunteers of Urban Connections to connect with the kids in a comfortable, fun way.
These events have included hiking, canoeing and ice skating, as well as trips to pumpkin patches, COSI and farms. We are always looking for chaperones for these trips (it’s a great way for you to “get your feet wet” with the kids). We’re also open to creative ideas for where to take kids.
Finally, we take some kids on our “ultimate special outing” in the summers on our annual camping trip. We have white-water rafted in West Virginia, dune-buggied in Michigan, visited Niagara Falls, and most recently went boating, skiing and tubing in Kentucky. This is usually a 4 day trip, mostly out of state, where we tent-camp and cook on a campfire. Many of our kids know the value now of not taking food into the tent, and how good it is to sleep in a dry sleeping bag (even if the ground is hard) compared to one that’s been in the rain for a whole day.
Kidz Camp
Kids Camp is a week long day-camp that takes place in the summer for k-5th grades. These camps are run by volunteer mission teams. The camp includes science or other educational curriculum, Bible lessons, crafts, games and a daily field trip. We’ve gone into caves, toured factories, had scavenger hunts and more!