In the Good News Club that met at a church in Chicago’s South Side, the children and adults were reeling from recent tragedies. The previous weekend, 50 people had been wounded in shootings around the city. It was obvious that Chicago’s children, particularly the children in this club, were frightened and sad.
As the club teacher stood in front of the children, preparing to teach the Bible lesson about Jairus’ little daughter, she knew they would be able to relate to Jairus’ feelings of hopelessness and fear. “Please help me teach this lesson clearly,” she prayed.
As the children interacted with the lesson, it was obvious they were connecting with the story. They talked about hopeless situations the children face today; they talked about Jairus’ feelings of fear and sadness, and they talked about how Jesus, who was there for Jairus and powerful enough to bring Jairus’ daughter back to life, was with these children now.
At the end of club, six elementary-aged girls sidled up to the teacher. “We need to tell you something,” one of them told her. “We just prayed to ask Jesus to forgive our sins.”
This teacher never saw these girls again, as she was only visiting that club once. At the end of Bible Club that day, she knew they were going back to the same situations they had come from—perhaps knowing people who had been shot, hoping they could avoid further shootings, taking for granted that this city they lived in was being consumed by violence. However, there was one major change that had occurred that evening—these girls were no longer going back alone.
