Wednesday Night World of Blessings

Kids work on their crafts during a Wednesday night class
at Grace Pointe Missionary Baptist Church in Brownwood.

Growing up in Jacksonville, Texas, Wednesday nights were a special time. Our youth group would meet at church at 6 p.m., with the boys participating in the Galileans program, and the girls joining the Girls' Auxiliary. Both programs trained up the youth for future church service. Though I was not yet a Christian, I attended the Galileans, and even advanced in their program. The things I learned in that program came to life when I was later saved and surrendered to the ministry.

Today, Wednesday night attendance at churches is sparse. At Grace Pointe Missionary Baptist Church, we are likely to have 20 in attendance, but 15 of those in attendance will be children. Most of the children receive rides to church by youth volunteers (namely, my wife). We are blessed at Grace Pointe to have a man who teaches the adults while my wife and I teach the children.

The decline in Wednesday night attendance is due mostly to a cultural shift. As time goes on, life goes faster, and people as having trouble finding the time to go to church. Children have a myriad of activities, and Wednesday nights are no longer off limits to baseball/softball practice, school athletic events, drama practice or other extra-curricular activities. I'm not trying to stir controversy, just stating how things are.

Despite the things that compete for the time, hearts and minds of people, some churches are still enjoying good attendance on Wednesday evenings. Some churches have begun having fellowship meals on Wednesday evenings, and others focus on auxiliary and Bible club meetings. Even if attendance is not very high, Wednesday night services can still offer church members the opportunity to fellowship during the week and get a little more Bible study accomplished.

At Grace Pointe, we are entering an exciting new chapter in our Wednesday night services. Bro. B.R. Teague has begun teaching the adults while Jessica and I teach the kids. Starting next week, we will unveil a new program entitled, "Jesus, the One and Only," an in-depth study of the life of Christ for kids in First through Sixth Grades. This is exciting. After getting to teach ALL of the kids tonight, I have learned that they know a lot about the Bible. Jessica has done well.

Do you attend church on Wednesdays? Does your church offer any Wednesday night services/programs?

Wednesday night services at Grace Pointe begin at 6:30 p.m.