Several years ago, I remember Dolores sharing how she and Steve loved to read his vintage Arch books to their girls while they were growing up, and wonderful memories flooded my mind. My beloved Mammaw read numerous Bible stories to me from her own collection of Arch books. They have distinctive illustrations and really cemented the Bible stories I heard in Sunday School as I asked her to read and re-read them to me every time we were together.
As Dolores guided the Family Ministry team to dream bigger dreams of building our own South Main curriculum, the idea of Bible Times was born. Using the beloved Arch books as inspiration, she formed an amazing team to create a space that could bring the Bible to life for our Mini-MainKids.
Each week during Large Group, our PreK children and Kindergarteners live out the Bible story and experience life as Jesus might have as a child. Alongside Clip-Clop the donkey and Timmy the mouse, you will find our children dressing in Bible times clothing, milking a goat, picking grapes from the vineyard, collecting water from the well, or building with wood and tools as Jesus would have done alongside His father. Some weeks they prepare bread, herd the sheep, sweep out the dwelling, or tend the garden. We listen to traditional music similar to what Jesus may have heard and learn traditional dances Jesus may have danced.
Our prayer is that the experiences shared in this space - immersed in Jesus' world as a child - will stay hidden in our Mini-MainKids hearts long after they leave this space and maybe, just maybe, one day they will read from their own beloved Bible storybook collection to their children or grandchildren and tell them all about what it was like to grow up at South Main Baptist Church.
