Wellspring Family Church would seem a lot duller without the kids and we can underestimate their importance and what they might show us....even if they do sometimes sound like a 2nd floor herd of elephants during the sermon on Sunday morning.  Jesus' first disciples tried to stop children bothering Jesus but he clearly couldn't wait to spend time with them.  How can we best love the children of the church and show them Jesus?  We ask Jamie Jolly who is now taking a lead role in the kids work of WFC...

Q: What are the main ways that WFC is spending time with children?
Wellspring is a very lively and fun family church and people are definitely taking God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" seriously. This means lots of opportunities to spread God's word.
As for myself I run the older kids groups of which we have two.

On a Friday we have our after school club Destiny Quest, a club named by kids for kids; but this will part of MAD club (Multi-Activity-Day). Here we play games, do crafts and learn to care for each other and God in a safe environment... Oh and there's a make your own cocktail bar. Everyone's welcome to join, it doesn't matter whether you're a christian or not.  The club is for for those age roughly between 7 and 11 years old and is on Friday night 6-7.30pm.  If you would like to know more about the club please feel free to ring me (Jamie Jolly) on 01366727197.

The second group we run is on Sunday mornings and where we all get together and have a chance to go deeper with God, find his heart for us and we pray we find our heart for others. It's here we hope to engage the past, present and future of God's kingdom through some of the lesser known gifts of the spirit, such as water pistols and cream pies. We have groups for all ages though my particular troop are the older kids - the 8 - 11 ish bunch called Rivers.

Q: Are there any changes to the kids work that we should know about?
Well, as well as the groups above, me and the team really hope to get out there this year and are definitely going to be throwing some parties and reaching out to the area around. This could mean, circus workshops, sleep overs, fireworks who knows, watch this space!

Q: What do you reckon are some of the biggest social problems effecting children today and how church can make a difference?
I think, (though I'm definitely not an expert, I did games design at university!) England is going through a lot of changes at the moment. There's a lot of cutbacks going on and it seems the government is looking to volunteers to take up the torch in a lot of places that used to be funded - I think this is where Christians really get to shine and as the money starts to flow out of the youth sector we will see Christians flooding in to fill the gaps; Exciting times!

Q: Did you have any experiences of church or Christians while you were a child, and if so what were the main ways it effected you?
I've been a church boy, born and raised, and the support, love and encouragement that came out of the church really helped define me. I feel very lucky to have been brought up seeking and seeing the good in the world.

Q: What are the best ways we can support and love children in the church?
Its always gotta be about leading them to the Lord,;seek first the kingdom and everything else will fall into place. They are amazingly wise and loving kids, sometimes it just takes a little demonstration in how to use it.

Q: Are there areas of the children's work that you would like to see developed?
Personally my heart longs to see our kids become naturally supernatural in their living out of the word.

Q: The kids work sounds demanding.  Do you currently feel in need of more volunteers to help the children's activities?
We're always on the look out for more volunteers - if you can throw a cream pie your pretty much in. 

Q: What was your favourite toy when you were a child?
I'm sure it would have been the Thundercats fortress I was supposed to get for surviving scarlet fever when I was about 6 (still waiting mum) :).

Q: What is your favourite toy now?
My giant inflatable boxing gloves I got from a charity shop last week.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about?
Apparently Sainsbury's has a 'no inflatable boxing glove' policy in their fruit and veg section.... I know I didn't see the sign either.

Thanks Jamie, that was jolly good!