City Harvest Church’s Children’s Day party—Kidz Wonderland—ushered thousands of children into a joyous time of delightful surprises on Oct. 8 and 9, 2011.
Contributed By Nicolette Ng
Children who attended Kidz Wonderland were tremendously blessed by the love of God shown by the Children’s Church staff, workers and volunteers. CN PHOTO: Daniel Poh.
Children gathered at City Harvest Children’s Church for the annual Children’s Day celebration with this year’s party titled Kidz Wonderland. Held across two locations, (Jurong West Street 91 on Thursday and Friday; and Suntec Singapore on Saturday), the mega celebration was helmed by the committed team of Children’s Church workers as they put up a power-packed weekend, which drew a crowd of more than 7,000 children and adults, and over 3,000 salvation decisions.
The Saturday party also marked the first Children’s Day Celebration at CHC’s new worship premises in Suntec Singapore. The crowd strolled in as early as 12:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The children, who arrived in their chartered buses, happily sauntered through crowds of curious shoppers as they made their way up to the theater on the second level of the convention center. After weeks of preparation, the Children’s Church team was geared up to be a blessing to the children.
Jonathan Cai, 23, a Children’s Church teacher, shared, “Even as the church is upholding the mantra of ‘choosing love’ in this season, we decided to plan Kidz Wonderland as an event that would carry a strong atmosphere of God’s love throughout the celebration.” And without a doubt, every child who attended was blessed from start to end.
The event started with an innovative icebreaker game to engage all the kids. They were divided into two different teams competing to pass presents from the back of the hall down to the stage. During the second game, the boisterous host called for volunteers from both teams to run forward to compete in a candy floss eating competition. The crowd went wild as they cheered for their representatives to devour the delicious treat.
The vibrant atmosphere of the praise and worship was readily soaked in as the children sang loudly and worshipped God with their hands raised. One could sense the love of God in the hall as young hearts and voices were lifted to heaven.
The children were in for a treat with an exciting program lined up to entertain them, from fun-filled games to a magic performance by Japanese magician, Chiki.
The highlight of the day was Japanese comedian and magician, Chiki, who astounded the crowd with his dance moves and magic tricks. At one point, he invited one of the girls on stage to help him with his balloon tricks as he skillfully created animal balloon figures. Mouths agape, the young audience was impressed as he maneuvered four palm-sized crystal balls around him in an incredibly fast yet precise manner. His quick wit and animated gestures had the children laughing with glee.
After that came the Bible lesson illustrated in a creative way that captured the imagination of the little ones. Filled with bright and colorful displays, the Word of God came alive for the kids as they listened attentively to the preaching of the Word.
The goodies distributed at the end of the party were definitely a treat for all the young ones. From sweets, popcorn and candy floss, to donuts and hot dog buns, the children were more than delighted to choose from a huge range of free gifts. Little 7-year-old Shannon shrieked in excitement, “I am very happy as I enjoyed myself and there are presents for me!”
Behind the scenes of the spectacular Kidz Wonderland are a group of dedicated leaders and team members led by Children’s Church pastor, Eileen Toh. Each year, the CHCC team aims to lead thousands of children to Christ with the gospel through such outreach events, making use of any opportunity to spread the love of God to children. While preparing for this Big Day required lots of time and effort, it always pays off.
CN PHOTOS: Daniel Poh, Andrea Loh & Ferrine Seik.
“When you see the joy and love from all these kids, it is all worth the sacrifice,” shared Cai, who has served in this ministry for seven years. “The experience here is definitely one you cannot get anywhere else.”
More than this, perhaps what touched this City News reporter was talking to 13-year-old Bryan Wong, who was one of the Kidz Wonderland volunteers last week. Wong just “graduated” from CHCC in 2010 and is now attending the regular adult services. But he decided to sow back into the ministry that he was blessed by over the years. In his own words he shared, “It was a great experience to come back to help out in the place where I grew up in.” Truly the children in CHC are learning how to serve others and to be a blessing just as they have been blessed in return.
