KidsGames brings God’s Word to children in Lebanon

Some of the eighty children aged 7 to 11-years enjoy the games at the three-day KidsGames event organised by the Bible Society in Lebanon (BSL). Beirut, Lebanon. Photo: BSL (LEB02DJ-2.JPG)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Outreach to children has been a key element of recent initiatives by the Bible Society in Lebanon.

A successful KidsGames sports evangelism event is likely to pave the way for a permanent project, while the opening of the Bible World exhibition will present the Bible to both children and adults in an accessible, exciting way. God’s Word is also being brought alive for children through the Bible Society’s Children’s Choir, which performed near Beirut on National Bible Sunday, June 2.

The three-day KidsGames Ultimate Goal event attracted around 80 children aged between seven and 11. It followed the approach adopted by other KidsGames events staged since the evangelistic sports-based holiday club concept was launched in Spain in 1985. (For background information about KidsGames, see World Report 357/01).

Football

The Lebanese children were particularly interested in playing football, but also had the opportunity to participate in aerobics, basketball and games. The teaching element involved both printed material and the use of sports-related examples to present biblical concepts.

The organisers hope that this will be the start of a permanent project. All the children received a copy of the Bible Society’s pamphlet The Ultimate Goal as a farewell gift.

The establishment of Bible World in Beirut will also offer the Society the opportunity to introduce the Bible to children through the medium of multimedia technology. The driving force behind the construction of this facility was the Rev Lucien Accad, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Lebanon, who was inspired by seeing the success of Bible World in Edinburgh.

Opening the exhibition, the Rev Doug Campbell, Executive Director of the Scottish Bible Society, described seeing a group of boys who were initially sceptical about Bible World become enthralled by the various activities.

In contrast, the Children’s Choir run by Bible Society in Lebanon Deputy General Secretary Mike Bassous reaches out to and through children in a much more traditional way.

Both this choir and the Bible Society Chorus performed at the service held at the Evangelical Church in Rabieh, just north of Beirut, to mark National Bible Sunday. They performed 10 hymns in Arabic and English, and their music prompted a spontaneous reaction, with other children leaving their seats to dance.

Recorded

These hymns have been recorded on CD and audio cassette, and this recording, entitled Celebrate the WORD!, is being sold to raise funds for Bible publishing.