In the short five year history of the Junction Church, the summer of 2017 has been the best so far! Whereas August is usually considered a ‘dead’ month because so many are off on holiday, we wanted to do something that served the Loughborough community. Ohhhh myyyy gosh did it exceed our expectations!
A year ago when the team first started planning Summer Madness, we thought we might have 15 or 20 kids register. This was the first time we’d ever done something like this and we didn’t know how many would come along. However, 105 kids actually registered on the week!! Each day, children from one small area around Old Ashby road in Loughborough would gather from 10am at the Hut (a local community hub) for 4 hours of games, fun, inflatables and a brilliant choice of activities. The feedback each day from parents was phenomenal, grateful their kids had not only been well looked after for a whole week, but they had the best time too!!
A team of over 30 volunteers from the Junction Church took a whole week out to serve the community, many using their personal holiday time to do it. I have to say, they represent the Junction Church at its very best. They are all heroes who gave 110% and showed what it really means to serve with excellence. We are SO proud of them.
As well as kids activities, we also ran a community cafe which was buzzing every day. This was a great opportunity for local people to take a few minutes out, grab a hot drink, eat some good food and enjoy being served by some of the friendliest people in town. The community cafe grew more popular as the week went on. It was sooo good! The people in this area are AMAZING.
Funding for Summer Madness came entirely from the Junction Church. So why did we do it? The reason is because we genuinely love people and have a heart to serve in the community. This might sound like a strange thing to say for anyone who isn’t of faith, but it’s literally why we did it. The whole event reflected the kind of things we really value at the Junction Church, things like excellence, generosity and honour. This was church in the heart of the community, quietly getting on with loving and serving people. It was our absolute pleasure to do it. It keeps it all real. After all, faith is not something that is inward looking but rather outward focused, bringing life and hope to others, no strings attached. We loved it!
To finish the week off, it was great to see hundreds of people from the local community pouring into church for Sunday Funday. After a 1 hour service full of upbeat music and great vibes, we then served a BIG lunch accompanied by loads of fun stuff including inflatables, basket ball, face painting and so much more. One guy who never goes to church said it was ‘bloody brilliant‘. If you’re the religious type, you’ll balk at that. Not us though. It’s the ultimate compliment.
So many people in the community asked us if we are going to do Summer Madness again next year. The answer is…YES. Our team are already working on something even better for next year. Watch this space!! Meanwhile, to all the incredible volunteers who served with such brilliance, you are true legends. We love and appreciate you so much. Your kindness has made a difference.
CHECK OUT WHAT SUMMER MADNESS IS ALL ABOUT BY CLICKING HERE.
Video highlights from #SummerMadness
Pics from #SundayFunday
