International Aid News – Summer 1995
On Sunday, May 21, 1995, 250 members of Christ Memorial Church surrounded Holland’s Van Raalte Elementary School in a “prayerful hug.”
The church has adopted this school as part of International Aid’s KIDS HOPE USA program in which members volunteer one hour a week to mentor students who need emotional support and help learning to read.
The church members gathered at the church and joined together in a walk to the school. After Pastor Tim Brown prayed, they joined hands around the school in a few minutes of silent prayer; then they sang a verse of “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”
The prayerful hug was a tangible act showing the school and the children that the group is serious about the program. Virgil Gulker, Director of KIDS HOPE USA said, “It’s not a matter of whether or not church members care – they do. It’s a matter of giving them the opportunity to act.”
“What this walk shows so very clearly”, says Gulker, “is that there is a virtual army of church members out there who want to model the love of Christ to a child who needs emotional support and help learning to read. But they just don’t know how and their churches do not know how to engage them with children. Give them direction and support, and they can change the world by changing the life of one child. In the process, they will be changed themselves.”
