'Being with God is like finding treasure' 

Children had great fun exploring, creating, and discovering at this year’s Baptist Assembly

Youngsters from reception to Year Six were invited to explore how being with God is like finding treasure – and how they are also God’s treasure.
 
The programme was led for the first time at Assembly by Lauren Smith, children’s minister at Skipton Baptist Church.
 
She explained the day’s activities were based around “The Parable of the Hidden Treasure”, (Matt 13: 44)
 

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

 
‘It lent itself nicely to being treasure hunters for the day,’ Lauren said. Activities included worship, teaching, games, craft time, wigwam games, and some free time.
 
‘They were brilliant – I was really pleased with how they got stuck in.'
 
There was a morning session, and a longer afternoon session, and Lauren said one of the highlights was seeing the transformation in the children from their initial arrival to returning for the afternoon.


 
‘They arrive at the start of the day, and understandably, they’re nervous – it’s a new event, they don’t know us, we don’t know them, they don’t know too many other children. The parents are nervous too.
 
‘One of the best things to do is greet them with big smiles on our faces – they knew in that moment it was a place for them. A safe place where they could learn and have fun.'
 


‘I feel that as much as it was a long day, it gave us a chance to get to know the children,' Lauren added. 'It was really good to see that by the middle of the afternoon they were fully into it.
 
‘The difference between their arrival in the morning, and then the afternoon following the lunch break, going from being nervous to really excited to come back, that was the key thing for me.
 
‘I really hope they went away thinking they weren’t an after thought, that this was something for them to come to in their own right.’