FUN CHURCH    

Written by Fern Underwood

Fun Church became a reality in 1999 but began in some indefinable past. It confirms that God has a unique sense of humor, which becomes obvious throughout the Bible. God has always seemed to choose the most unlikely people for the various tasks: To defend the Israelites against the Philistines, represented by their giant, Goliath, God did not draft an army but sent David whose resume was only, "herder of my father's sheep." When God's people were oppressed by the Midianites, God chose for this gigantic rescue Gideon, who said of himself that he was the most insignificant person in the weakest tribe. Then, to add to the surprising directive, God whittled down the size of the army from 32,000 to 300 men.

On through the Bible it is confirmed that God's choice of people is never what ours would be. When God came into the world in the person of Jesus, he by-passed those in positions of authority and chose for his companions the poor and powerless -his parents, Mary and Joseph; his disciples- common, uneducated, working-class men; and he gave great consideration to those whom the culture disregarded-women and children. When the time came to choose an evangelist to establish the church, God chose a man who had been the Christians' most determined enemy.

Likewise, God's time is not our time. God told Abraham that he would become a great nation through his son Isaac, who was not born until Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. When God's people were slaves in Egypt, God's choice of the one to obtain their freedom was 80-year-old Moses. When he protested that he was not adequate, God assured him that he would be helped by his brother, Aaron, who was 83. There is no scriptural evidence that God gave any of his chosen a map showing where they were to go, or a schematic to define every detail. An element of the response was trust that God would be with them and lead them step by step.

All of that pertains to Fun Church. There seemed to be a call to take God's message of love where no provision for that had been made. Surely the opinion of many people would be that for the work at hand God would choose an energetic, young (not old), man (not woman), with seminary (not housewife/business woman) education. However, I feel very much that when God had a spot where ministry was not being done, he said to me, "Go there." With what? My youth? At 85, that was long gone. With training? I had none. But I went and this writing will be my attempt to tell what happens when we respond to God’s call.

Knowing where to begin is difficult because, when I look back on it, I feel that God has been setting this up perhaps all my life. Is that what lay behind my intense desire to read, study, and understand the Bible? Could be. I am confident that the origin for this particular project was at least 30 years ago. At that time I became acquainted with Bob Diehl who owns the trailer court, where we have Fun Church. There was no contact in the interim but a friendly acquaintance had been established.

Perhaps the next step was several years ago when I realized that I didn't know any children. My contacts were only with adults until a teacher in the elementary school told me about the lives of some of these little people. Somewhere along the way he spoke about how they simply need to know that someone cares for them. I began volunteering at school and rediscovered what I had once known- the children's capacity for love and joy.

The next step was in June 1999 at Annual Conference. The quadrennium emphasis is children and members had an option of several teaching sessions. By what I now believe was God's leading, I chose one given by Peg Egbert who has a trailer court ministry in which she goes door to door to invite people to come to her church. She said that everywhere she goes to speak in churches, there are complaints that no children attend their activities, yet there are children and young people everywhere. Shortly after I came home I heard disturbing rumors about the trailer court and asked if there were children there. The answer was affirmative and I called upon my former acquaintance with Bob who was eager to direct me if I wanted to meet them.

I confess that I didn't wait for a committee to be formed and deliberate. If I had, Fun Church would never have happened because we would have thought of all the barriers. Where would we meet? What would we do if it rained? What would happen when the weather turned cold? I didn't have any of those answers, but when there has been a need, there has been a supply. I am absolutely convinced that God has been guiding this whole process.

Sally Dulinskey, special ed teacher in elementary school, went with me the first time. I remember saying to her on the way, "Are we crazy?" She said "Yes" but we kept going. We simply knocked on doors and gave out folders which invited the children to Sunday School. We were wonderfully received! But almost immediately I perceived that they would not be coming. So on July 11, 1999, Education Director Sandy Smith, Evangelism Work Area chair Ben Cox, and I went out to be with them. We spread a blanket on the ground and the children came. Many people have helped along the way but none more steadily than Mark and Vickie Binning who are as excited as I and who love the kids as much as I do.

Sometime in August I began to perceive that some of the little children knew nothing at all about Jesus, so I began to write the gospel in their terminology. I thought I knew the Bible and the stories about Jesus, but through doing this, God began teaching me! I suddenly could see how much we assume people know. I became aware of the church-related or Biblical terminology we commonly use that is completely foreign to them. We now have a generation of parents, many of whom have not related to church or Sunday School, who do not bring their children. Who is to teach them? In those cases, not the home, by law not the school, and not the church unless we go to them. They are not coming to us.

If we have an opportunity to tell about Jesus to someone who doesn't know him, what do we want them to know? For me nothing seemed as important as for them to know that Jesus loves them unconditionally. When no one else seems to, they need to know that he does and always will. One of the first songs we learned was "Jesus Loves Me."

For the first time ever I realized that the Bible tells us that God is especially partial toward the poor. I had been aware that Jesus talked more about money than any other subject except the kingdom of God. I had known his teaching was a warning about the seductive power of money. But becoming acquainted with people who live with less has given me a new understanding of his words. Money represents security. Closets full of clothes give the assurance that we will be appropriately dressed for any occasion but they must be bought, selected, and cared for. We are tempted to invest in every new gadget but each “thing" not only has an initial price but complicates our lives. It becomes one more “thing" to learn to use, care for, clean, repair, and replace when it wears out. I have begun to wonder whether those "things" belong to us or us to them. Haven't they become dictators of where and on what we will expend not only money but also a portion of time and energy?

God put in my mind the importance that children understand that there are two parts of us: the part people see that is our body; and the part that nobody sees- the soul. The soul part of us is who we really are. It is the soul that loves. It is the soul that knows right from wrong. And the soul must grow in the same way bodies grow. There are evidently people of all ages who haven't been told this and don't know about love beyond the physical; some don't know right from wrong. They need to know that this is the part of us that lives after the body dies. If life consists only of these years on earth, and these years are bad, where is hope? No wonder there are suicides!

From time to time the children have asked questions that seemed far beyond their understanding but opened the way to share extremely important aspects of Christian faith. How fascinating that the body/soul lesson came several weeks prior to Nikki’s questions. She had attended several meetings at the conclusion of which she was invited to pray that her sins be forgiven and to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. It was undoubtedly a high moment for the leader but Nikki had no idea and asked me what it meant. It gave me the opportunity to explain that we had had a week or two previously and to emphasize that just as physical bodies are born, the soul part of us needs to be born and begin to grow.

One Sunday Michael, a fifth grade girl, was prompted to say, “I thought Jesus was God” and I could go on to say that is exactly what we believe – that God loved us so much and wanted so much for us to know him that he took a human body and came to earth as Jesus. God’s soul was in Jesus’ body.

When it came to me that the children didn’t know the Lord’s prayer, we learned it, with explanation of the unfamiliar words. In October, Mark, Vickie, and I bought picture Bibles that are at their level and they love to read from them! So each week we have had a lesson, a story from the picture Bible, a prayer, perhaps a song, and when we can, we play outdoors or have an activity. We are there about an hour. The conclusion is their choice of a sucker – very important!

There were many happenings that I did not initiate. One that became a pinnacle was the result of a mother saying she would like to have her son baptized. It had a snowball effect. Other mothers spoke up and I asked pastor Jim Louk if he would be willing to perform the ritual. We agreed that it would be unfair to subject them to standing before a congregation of strangers, in a totally unfamiliar setting. Instead we held the service after the worship congregants had been dismissed.

In preparation for the service, Rev. Louk and I looked over baptism rituals traditionally used. I was shocked to realize the abundance of words that would have no meaning whatsoever to those who would experience it. “Through the sacrament of baptism we are initiated into Christ’s holy church. We are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation.” Take out sacrament, initiated, incorporated, and salvation and they might have a clue, although we had never referred to Jesus as Christ at that point.

I was even challenged to answer the children’s questions, “What is baptism?” Some ceremonies we take so far granted that it is difficult to put into words precisely what expectations we have of what is to happen. I believe that it is important that everyone should understand the meaning when taking such vows and I consider it far beyond coincidence that in January 2000, I co-led a workshop in which I was to address that very subject. I needed only to reduce to simpler language what I had shared.

On Sunday, March 12, 2000, 11 people were baptized – two mothers and nine children. I pray that it did not decrease its effectiveness that in the rewritten ritual, the pastor’s questions to them were:

On behalf of God’s church, I ask you, do you want to live a good life like God would like you to live?

Do you believe that Jesus will help you and if you trust him and follow his rules that you can become the best person you can be?

Do you want to continue to learn about Jesus and be an example for others who also want to learn and grow to do what is right?

Do you understand that God's church is for all God's family which includes people of all ages, nations, and races? Do you want to help make God's church stronger?

The parents, grandparents, and invited guests affirmed: "As members of God's family we affirm these persons and promise to support them with our friendship and prayers, and by our example encourage them in their Christian life."

After the baptism the minister concluded with: "May God work within your life, that being cleansed through water and God's Spirit, you may be a disciple of Jesus, like those who followed him long ago." The brief service was followed by a celebration lunch furnished by the leaders.

An interesting coincidence happened that morning. As we were assembling at the trailer court for our lesson on baptism, someone came running to tell us there was a grass fire. It was across the road, but on Bob's property and was shortly extinguished. As Bob returned and passed me on his way in to his house, he whispered, "By water and fire." Fire was to be part of Jesus' baptism attested by Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16.

Have I made it clear that I have done nothing but go and follow what God has nudged me to do? There are still questions but I have learned not to ask. What if it rains? Since July 11, 1999 it has never rained at 11:00 Sunday morning. Might it rain this coming Sunday? Perhaps. Then we shall expect to be told what to do. What will we do when it gets cold? Last year Bob cleared a portion of his living quarters and we met there. There are months before we will face the challenge again.

The bottom line is that over the course of time, watching the progression of this venture, I have come to know that it is God's, not mine, and I have been invited to tag along. I suppose I thought in the beginning that I had something to give, but I am receiving; I went believing I had something to teach, but I am learning; I went to show love and I am being loved. I firmly believe that is what happens when we say "yes" to the nudge of God.

Return to main page for Recipes for Living 2000 by Fern Underwood

Last Revised August 25, 2012