Young hearts engaged for the gospel

With your support, the Good News is reaching more people in fresh and creative ways.

Imagine you’re seven-years-old. It’s a few weeks before Christmas, and you’ve just been handed a crisp $20 note at church. You’re asked to pray and seek God’s will before giving this money to a good cause. What would you do?

When Luke found himself in this exact position, he took the money home and prayed. He then told his parents that he wanted to donate it to Christian Education at his school in Melba, ACT.

Just a few days later, Glenn Coombs, SU Senior Ministry Coordinator, and his wife Leanne arrived at Luke’s school to give an artistic presentation of the Christmas story. Glenn narrated from Matthew and Luke’s gospels while Leanne painted a beautiful representation of the story over four whiteboards, jumping dynamically between each board as the story progressed.

“We feel it a privilege to be able to go to schools and add to the great work that the scripture teachers have done in the schools all year,” reflects Glenn.

It turns out that the experience was just the confirmation young Luke needed to know he’d made the right decision about where to give his money.

But just what was it about the performance that moved Luke so much?

“It’s an opportunity to share the Good News in a fresh way,” explains Glenn.

“If you stand in a hall of kids and say, ‘Put your hand up if you like doing art, drawing or painting,’ a minimum of half the hands will go in the air. Connecting the visual to the story, with the music, keeps them kind of connected.”

And it’s not only the children that are engaged. Glenn recounts that after a performance, one of the support teachers from the school came up to them with tears running down her face.

“She just said to me, ‘That’s just the most beautiful thing I’ve seen. I’ve never seen the Christmas story quite like that.’ And it was quite obvious that God was really touching her heart through his Word,” notes Glenn.

‘It’s a privilege to be able to see God at work in people’s lives as we present his Good News in this way.’

God is clearly moving in hearts through Christian Education in schools. If you’d like to join seven-year-old Luke in supporting REIS teachers and workers like Glenn and Leanne to share the Good News with young people across Australia, please visit su.org.au/donate.