Edge
Middle schoolers have fellowship at Edge
Edge is a fellowship/Bible study for middle schoolers, ages 11-13. They gather every Sunday from 9:00-10:30 in the Annex 2nd Floor. The average number of students is about 37. Mainly spoken in English, but for the Bible study, students can choose to join English or Japanese.
15th September, 2013 — Despite the pouring rain outside, at a little past 9am, middle school students were gathered in the annex 2nd floor. Hanging their dripping umbrellas near the door, they pulled up chairs and sat down. As more and more people arrived, they started to form in a large circle that took up the whole room. With no sign of a teacher yet, they chatted lively amongst themselves. The weather may have soaked their shoes, but it hadn’t dampened their spirits.
Pastor Dale, the Children and Family Pastor, made his appearance about a quarter past. Instead of quieting down, his humour increased the level of energy in the room. He went around greeting everyone by name and shaking hands. Several people were new, having just come up from the elementary.
“Let’s play a game” said Pastor Dale, “A game called Splat! because that’s what it is outside.” Splat, turned out to be a game with imaginary water guns. Everyone got into a circle with someone in the middle randomly pointing at people. Those who were chosen had to duck while the people on both sides pretended to point
water guns and yelled “Splat!” If you got shot, then you’re out. One must be quick.
After two rounds of the exciting game, they sang a worship song led by Maryrose who played the guitar. The last 30 minutes of Edge were spent in Bible study. For a deeper interaction, they divided into 4 groups: English-speaking boys, Japanese-speaking boys, English-speaking girls, and Japanese-speaking girls.
The English-speaking girls are a relatively large group of about 10 girls. Edge was using the 1 John small group materials. That session’s question was, how would you describe a relationship with Christ? Leilani led the discussion in an open, engaging way helping everyone to think deeper. The girls were serious about the study, but also having fun at the same time. Taking the verse from 1 John 1:1, “We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands,” they came up with some powerful adjectives: tangible, real, and intimate.
After a closing prayer, Edge ended and each one headed to start a new week. They will gather again next Sunday.(YW)
Contact: Dale Johnson at dale at tokyobaptist.org
