By Andrea Yeager//
It’s a tough job, but parents get to do it. Let’s face it: Parenting is hard work and even harder when no support system exists. Often, single parents or couples find themselves living away from family and friends. Many have little time for each other or even “me” time. Military men and women know this firsthand. A date night or even a night with friends seems like a dream.
Bridge Community Church in Woolmarket gives these parents a break every two months with Kids’ Night at the Bridge: AKA Parents’ Night. The response has been so great that leaders have to limit the five-hour event to 50 children, ages 3 to fifth grade.
At a recent parents’ night, one mom told Pastor Curtis Davis, “You don’t know how much we need this right now–a night just for the two of us.”
“I don’t know what their situation was, but whatever it was, Kids’ Night was meeting a need,” said Davis, who, along with fellow believers, planted Bridge Community Church two years ago. “The purpose of Kids’ Night is two-fold: First, it offers the children a safe, fun Christian-based event, and secondly, it offers parents an opportunity to go on a date and spend quality time together without distraction,” said Davis, who believes ministry goes beyond the four walls of the building. Church members, some of whom are certified teachers and nurses, volunteer for this free event because they, too, believe this event helps make marriages better and gives parents alone time while providing fun for the children.
“This event is run strictly by volunteers, and we have so many helping that we can break the children into groups with age-appropriate activities, crafts, Bible stories, and movies,” said Kids’ Night champion and military wife, Tracey Blease. “Being military I know how it is to have no family around,” she said. “It’s so important for us to reach out to these folks. It connects our church with the community.”
By community she is quick to say not just Woolmarket. Kids’ Night is open to Coast families.
“Young families get so caught up in life that they forget about themselves,” Blease said. “Parents and single parents need time alone while knowing that the children are in a safe environment. And, too, sometimes parents simply cannot afford both a babysitter and a night out.”
Kids’ Night is a four-hour event that gives parents time to eat dinner and catch a movie. The kids are fed physically, mentally, and spiritually. They start with dinner, also prepared by church volunteers, and then go to their respective age groups where they move every 20 minutes or so to new activities.
Zachary Miller, Bridge worship leader and senior music major at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, gets in on the fun. He plays music with the kids, sings, and even syncs Christian videos to the music. Other members are craftier and help the kids make art projects, while others play games. Around 8 p.m. the children settle down to watch movies geared to their age. Of course, what is a movie without popcorn and cokes?
One new member was attracted to the Bridge because of parents’ night out. “I heard about it from another military family, and I called and found out that they included 3-year-olds, which was great because most churches start Bible schools and events for 5-year-olds and up,” she said. “Now, we are here.”
Davis and his flock see Kids’ Night: aka. Parents’ Night, as a much-needed ministry. Being a bridge to the community is what Kids’ Night and Woolmarket’s Bridge Community Church aim to be. Perhaps the church-shirt sums it up best: The Church has left the building.