Here's all our very latest news.
To be honest, that's probably untrue. Despite our very best intentions to keep our website up-to-date, it's just not a high priority! So the best way, by far, to discover what we're up to is to follow us on Facebook or Twitter. That way you'll hear about things as they happen. And we'd appreciate it if you'd use the form on the right to sign up to receive our news report. We hardly ever send out emails actually (same issue as the website), but when we do we'll keep them short & interesting, we promise! |
posted 28 Mar 2013 18:59 by Kidz Klub
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updated 28 Mar 2013 19:42
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 We've got to admit to being a little apprehensive when we got the invitation to do an Easter assembly at the local Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) - a school for primary aged children who have proved unmanageable in mainstream education. Our apprehension wasn't helped when we found that there was something of a 'lock-down' situation occurring as we arrived. When we were eventually led into the hall there was tension in the air, and the 20 or so children (almost entirely boys around the age of 8-10) eyed us suspiciously.
It helped break the ice when some of them recognised us from their previous schools. And when we started off the assembly by comparing each others scars and talking about how we'd got them, the atmosphere warmed up a bit ... in a macho kind of way! Story-telling is a powerful tool with all ages and - for 10 minutes - twenty street-wise, hard-faced, young boys sat transfixed by the fictional tale of a 6 year old girl called Lucy and her mum's scarred hands. For 10 minutes they were indistinguishable from any other innocent children listening to a bed-time story. In the ensuing silence it was an immense privilege to then talk to them about the scarred hands of Jesus which remind us - and Him - of the lengths He went to to rescue us. Scars that speak of love & sacrifice. It wasn't until we'd finished our prayer for them, and the children & staff started to leave the hall, that the 15 minutes of peace & tranquillity was broken. One of the boys shouted "God's gay", kicked over some chairs and shouted some abuse at the staff. Nobody seemed that phased by it. There was a sense that this was a return to normality. We left that place with real admiration for the PRU teachers & staff, and trusted that God might have used our small contribution to somehow draw those children closer to Him. This past Sunday, Jack*, one of the boys from the PRU, unexpectedly turned up with a friend to the Palm Sunday service at St Stephen's church (Kidz Klub's HQ). They were as good as gold and extremely eager to participate in everything. They banged the drums and waved flags with genuine zeal - probably like on that first Palm Sunday. And the vicar has never had such enthusiastic responses to his questions during a sermon before! They stayed for lunch. And for several hours it felt like they'd belonged there all their lives. It all ended quite abruptly when Jack's mum arrived and quite literally dragged him out by the scruff of his neck. And we were starkly reminded again that the previous 3 hours probably weren't normality for Jack. But we pray they will be - for Jack and the 250 children we worked with last week. It's unbelievably sad & sobering to be reminded that so many very young lives are already damaged & scarred by what life has thrown at them.
But there's no better time than Easter to be reminded that the life, death & resurrection of Jesus has the power to give fresh starts; new lives; heal broken hearts. It's a message Kidz Klub share by our words AND by our deeds, week-in & week-out, with all the children we are privileged to encounter.
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posted 21 Oct 2012 04:47 by Peter Shields
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updated 22 Oct 2012 19:27
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Everybody loves kittens. On Sunday evening you could give this kitten new hope.If sufficient people turn up to our Kidz Klub open day (this Sunday 21st Oct 7.30pm @ St Stephen's Church, West Bowling) to hear inspiring stories from head teachers, children, families & volunteers - then this kitten will live. For the sake of the kitten, please come. Go to the website. And share this with your friends. Spoodles is depending on you. http://savethekitten.eventbrite.co.uk/
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posted 10 Oct 2012 03:01 by Peter Shields
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updated 10 Oct 2012 03:30
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 This summer - as most other summers - Kidz Klub leaders were involved in various children's summer camps. These are always remarkable, memory-making, life-defining experiences for the children (and often for us leaders too).
But it was particularly encouraging to receive an email from a parent whose 2 children attended the Urban Saints Nefyn camp we were involved in. In an innocuous looking farmer's field, in a remote Welsh village, 2 more young lives were changed forever by encountering God's love & power - as demonstrated through a bunch of devoted & diligent volunteers.
But don't just take our word for it, read what the mother had to say for yourselves below. And if you'd like to support us making this sort of thing possible for even more children please use the "Ways to Help" options on the left. Dear Leaders... I’ve wanted to say
thank you for what you did for my kids this summer. This reunion seems a good time
to testify to the seeds that were sewn by yourselves this summer but are still
having an effect today.
Attending camp was a
last minute decision this year. Easter time my husband was made redundant. This
followed 6 months of money not always being paid. This meant no holiday this
summer. At the last minute Irish grandparents offered to pay for the kids to go
to ‘christian’ camp. We quickly searched and found Nefyn – close to where my
family come from. It felt right.
We said thank you
God.
“N” 9 years old, at
time, did not want to go and said NO THANK YOU.
“B” 11 years old,
said yes nervously.
A few days before
going “N”’s best friend tells him, he’d wanted to go but couldn't but one of his
mums friends was a leader. “N” said MAYBE.
We turned up a Lymm [coach station]
“B” went silent, “N”
met an eccentric boy like himself. He got on the bus smiling.
A week later we
picked up two very smelly kids who had had an amazing time. “N” was very upset
at leaving his friends. He felt very secure there. Thank you.
“N” told me a couple
of days later that he had decided to follow Jesus!
We said THANK YOU
GOD.
Since then he’s
joined in singing in church for the first time and his hearing has improved to
the extent that we’ve been able to put away the hearing aids for the first time
in 5 years. (No more ops either). He’s a lot more confident and has joined in
other things since he would not do before the camp.
We said THANK YOU GOD
“B” had an amazing
time as well and it helped to give her confidence to go onto grammar school. Being
a bit older she’s taken on board a lot more of our problems. At Nefyn she met
girls with other problems which helped her to stop worrying about ours.
My husbands now got a
job. THANK YOU GOD.
Apart from my husband
being unemployed I’ve had health problems. Church has been unstable as well as
leadership has changed.
CAMP for my kids has
been a sane interlude in a crazy year, where “B” and “N” met Gods word and FUN.
THANK YOU URBAN
SAINTS AND LEADERS
P.S. - tell your
young leaders that mums generally pack underwear, but that 9 year olds who
model themselves as crazy inventors may not know how to look in a bag. Empty
the bag with the 9 year old before believing him that he has no underwear! |
posted 8 Jun 2012 12:51 by Peter Shields
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updated 8 Jun 2012 17:06
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For almost 4 decades, Pastor Bill Wilson has been living & serving in some of the most deprived & violent ghettos of New York. Every week 40,000+ children & adults are on the receiving end of an incredible & ground-breaking ministry. And it's his vision & pioneering methods which are the inspiration behind Kidz Klub Bradford and 100's of other children's outreach projects across the country (and across the globe). Kidz Klub Bradford are proud to be co-hosting TWO special events with Pastor Bill Wilson on Tuesday 19th June. - An exclusive, ticket only event for educational professionals or those involved school leadership. We want Bill Wilson's experiences of transforming children's lives in some of the hardest & most deprived neighbourhoods in the world to inspire & encourage our schools. Who knows, maybe we could spark a revolution in education that starts right here in Bradford
- An evening celebration at Bradford Cathedral, open to all. This is the Church's opportunity to hear the heart of a man who knows more than most what it means to put your life on the line for your faith. We guarantee you will come away with a fresh outlook on life, with your faith challenged & with a new resolve to make your life count towards something of significance.
There's publicity material attached below for you to include in your newsletters or to print out and distribute. Please invite any teachers or educational professionals to the education event. They'll be very grateful you did. |
posted 23 Dec 2011 01:03 by Kidz Klub
Well that's 2011 pretty much over. All that remains to be said is THANKS very much for your interest & support.
We hope this video asks some questions which help you (re)discover the awe & wonder of the Christmas story.
Kidz Klub wish you all a joyful & restful Christmas celebrating the Heav'n born Prince of Peace.
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posted 1 Nov 2011 07:22 by Kidz Klub
When loads of vicars and people from anglican churches got together one day, Liam & Lucy took some KidzKlub magic along too!
The theme was discipleship, following Jesus wherever He takes us, and Nick kindly accepted our invitation of coming with us on some home visits, and to see our clubs in the New Year, to really get a taste of KidzKlub in action! Although we don't wear bright tutus and giant underpants every week, we love following Jesus and journeying with the KidzKlub kids. We gave out KidzKlub activity sheets and smiley stickers so people can follow us on twitter and facebook as we share the good news stories of how following Jesus really makes a difference.
Thanks for all the smiles from our anglican friends :)
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posted 26 Oct 2011 07:32 by Kidz Klub
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updated 26 Oct 2011 19:26 by Peter Shields
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 Are we allowed to say that?After all, isn't Halloween often a time when many Christians batten down the hatches or "hunker in the bunker" of their church building? Definitely not at Kidz Klub Bradford!
The reflex response of so many Christians often seems to be, "how can we invite people to us"? At Kidz Klub our reflex response is always, "how can we go to where people are"? So it's no surprise that this Halloween you'll find Kidz Klub & our partners out where the action is once again - out on the streets.
There's no denying it, children love the opportunity to dress up and go knocking on peoples doors. So that's exactly what we'll be doing. But instead of "Trick or Treating", we'll be "Blessing and Treating". Instead of promoting horror & fear we'll be spreading joy & laughter. Instead of begging for treats we'll be sharing our sweets. Instead of threatening a trick we'll be declaring a blessing:
"The Lord bless you & keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you. The Lord grant you His favour, And give you His peace".
So don't "hunker in your bunker" this year! Why don't you & your family put on a silly costume and get out to "Bless & Treat" your neighbours? You won't regret it. We're confident that, as in previous years, everyone who takes part will discover that laughter is more powerful than screams; giving more rewarding than taking
Join us turning Halloween on it's head. Let's make every Halloween a happy Halloween.
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posted 6 Sep 2011 03:24 by Kidz Klub
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updated 6 Sep 2011 07:03
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As part of our commitment to ensuring the children at our Klubs have the best possible care, we provide regular opportunities for our volunteers to be trained in First Aid.
The details of our next training are given below. It is provided by The British Red Cross. The event this time is being filmed by The Red Cross themselves as part of their own volunteer training. If you'd like to benefit from the training too, please get in touch.
| Course: | "Everyday First Aid" provided by The British Red Cross | | Where: | St Stephen's Church, Donisthorpe St, Bradford BD5 7BX | | When: | Saturday 10th Sept, 9:30 - 11:30 | | Cost: | £10 per person |
Content: | - Helping an unconscious person
- Helping someone who is choking
- Helping someone who is bleeding
- Helping someone with a broken bone
- Helping someone who is having a seizure (epileptic fit)
- Helping someone who is having an asthma attack
- Helping someone who has suffered a head injury
| | Contact: | Kidz Klub Bradford
01274 391537
office@kkbradford.co.uk |
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posted 22 Aug 2011 06:55 by Kidz Klub
Kidz Klub went on tour to a fun day hosted by Shipley Salvation Army last Friday.
 The visitors attempted to guess where our 10 clubs will be in September on our KidzKlub treasure map, they braved the sawdust to find a prize in the lucky dip, and were tempted by the sweet Krispy Kreme doughnuts we were selling to raise money for your Kidz Klubs. With all our free give-aways and the sunshine everyone had a great afternoon, and it was lovely to meet some smiling Holybrook families and KidzKlub friends too :)
Thanks to all who came, why not invite us to your fun days?! |
posted 7 Jul 2011 02:58 by Kidz Klub
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updated 15 Jul 2011 08:31
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What a great time we had at the cinema on Saturday!
Thank you to all who came and took part. We started with the big blue busses full of excited kids and got to the cinema welcomed by the Cha-Cha-Slide. Massive punch balloons were bouncing everywhere and bubbles were floating around. We cheered out hearts out, prayed and began praising God. There were 120+ children and team singing 'Jesus is my Superhero' and 'God's love is BIG!'. And a dozen of them went home laden with prizes from our Prize Draw.
It was a brilliant time with all the individual Kidz Klubs together. A great way to celebrate the end of the year. We settled down to watch "Arthur and the Great Adventure". This summer we can be like Arthur who helped his friends and had loads of fun too!
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