Kids at St. Joe Baptist Church had a wild celebration last week. In fact, they went a little PandaMania!

St. Joe church held its annual Bible School last week, and youngsters had a fun-filled, and learning-filled five evenings at PandaMania Bible School. With crafts, music, games and Bible Stories, it was a busy week for kids.

According Delisa Sitze, the Bible School averaged 87 youngsters a night for the 5-evening event, with the highest attendance the second night with 95 children.

“The kids had a good, time,” Sitze said. “They didn't want to miss an evening!”

Sitze said the Bible School was so popular, kids often chose attending Bible School, rather than other activities, include baseball practice!

In addition to enthusiastic kids, Sitze said more than 60 adults were on hand throughout the week to volunteer. Many adults were in charge of a "crew" of kids, as well as a wide variety of other volunteer jobs - from games, to crafts, Bible stories, music and more. “This was a good outreach for our church,” Sitze commented.

St. Joe General Baptist Church is located at 17537 State Highway FF in Idalia. Greg Stevens is the pastor.




Submitted photos from St. Joe General Baptist Church

Recently 29 youth and parents from Dexter’s First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) travelled to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., for a summer adventure. The crew left Dexter June 5.

“Over the years the CYF (Christian Youth Fellowship) had many lock-ins and campouts,” but youth leader Tim Holder said this trip was the longest and biggest journey under his leadership.

Two carloads with Holder and his wife Kaye and daughters Kristin and Kelsey, as well as Greg, Kara and Ian Lummukka, Bethany Christian and Erika Cobb left a day before the main group to settle in at Pigeon Forge. According to Holder the group rented two cabins for their week. The cabins were rustic homes, nestled back in a valley less than a mile from the hustle and bustle of Pigeon Forge.

“On Monday the rest of the 20 young people, parents and chaperons left Dexter. Upon arrival the entire group headed to a show at the Comedy Barn – a great family-oriented show with slapstick humor, a ventriloquist, juggler, a trained dog act using rescued shelter dogs, Gospel music and the kids’ favorite, comedian Eric Lambert.” Holder said.

Holder said the Dexter group yelled loud enough that comedian Lambert called Holder to the stage during the act. Holder said video has been posted on the group’s Facebook.

“On Tuesday morning we went to the NASCAR Speed Park where we spent most of the day riding go-carts, climbing on a rock-climbing wall and riding other amusement rides,” he said. That evening the group went to Dixie Stampede.

“You eat everything with your fingers – except Mary Kate Miller, who brought her own silverware in because she knew it was provided at Dixie Stampede,” Holder said.

On Wednesday the group divided, with some going to Scenic Helicopter Tours and some taking in the sun by the pool. That afternoon they all went to Wonder Works, a an “amusement park for the mind” combining education and entertainment in over 100 hands-on exhibits that spark the imagination and challenge the mind.

Dollywood was the destination on Thursday and that evening the youth and adults headed to Great Smoke Mountains National Park for a drive around Cades Cove – an 11 miles drive through the park.

“On the drive we saw more turkeys than I have ever seen there before and I didn’t even count how many deer we saw, including a lot of bucks in velvet,” Holder said. “While on this drive I never heard one person complain that they would rather be playing a video game!”

Holder said that a steady. Light rain was falling on their drive to Cades Cove, but as soon as the group reached the drive the rain stopped.

“God set the stage for a beautiful drive,” Holder said. Each evening the group would gather together for devotional and prayer. “I asked the youth and parents to text me what was the most memorable and almost everyone said the spending time together, doing the lessons and bonding with an extended family was important,” he said. The group returned to Dexter on Friday of that week, and on Sunday, June 26 they led worship for the church family. Those attending included Greg, Kara and baby Ian Lummukka, Bethany Christian, Erika Cobb, Barry, Kim and Jacob Crumley, Tori Buck, Melissa and Julia Hahn, Candy and Mary Kate Miller, Laura and JT Putnam, Valley Reynolds, Cheryl Christian, Kendall Adams, Jordan Dodson, Andrew Garner, Noah Kronk, Addie Kruse, Drake Mitchell, Delany Pullen, and Tanner Rickman.

First United Methodist Church of Dexter and Sadler’s Chapel United Methodist Church invite all children age 3 through 5th grade to join us for “Inside Out & Upside Down on Main Street".

Kids will see how those stories can make a difference in the lives of people who hear them even today! The Bible School will be held beginning Sunday, July 31 until Wednesday, Aug. 3 beginning at 6 p.m. each evening.

Kids will have the opportunity to explore and experience stories Jesus told about everyday people in everyday situations. But his stories were anything but ordinary! Each evening kids will be introduced to the life-changing stories Jesus told through music, skits, crafts, and games and they will come to understand that the stories Jesus told help everyone know that God wants us to show gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, grace, and faithfulness every day.

Children are invited to join in a wonderful action-packed week at the First United Methodist Church at 501 South Walnut Street in Dexter. Make new friends and greet old ones! To register or for more information contact the FUMC at 573-624-3344.

A summer kids’ event called PandaMania will be hosted at Liberty Hill General Baptist Church from July 25 to July 29.

Kids will explore a bamboo forest filled with crazy pandas, as they discover that God loves us. They will participate in memorable Bible-learning activities, sing catchy songs, play teamwork-building games, dig into yummy treats, experience electrifying Bible adventures, collect Bible Memory Buddies to remind them of God’s wild love, and create Bible Point crafts they’ll take home and play with all summer long. Plus, kids will learn to look for evidence of God all around them through something called God Sightings.

Each day concludes with a Rowdy Wrap-Up—a celebration that gets everyone involved in living what he or she has learned. Family members and friends (also called Very Important Pandas) are encouraged to join in daily for this special time at the end of each evening.

Kids at PandaMania will join nearly a million children sharing God’s love with other children throughout Latin America. Through this mission project, called Operation Kid-to-Kid, kids in North America will create special backpacks for needy children in Honduras.

PandaMania is for kids from age 3 to those who have completed fifth grade and will run from 6:30 to 9:00 PM each evening.

For more information or to register for PandaMania at Libery Hill General Baptist Church, call 568-3488 or 421-5621.

These young entrepreneurs from Small Wonders at First Baptist Church in Dexter started the "business day" on Friday within sight of their goal - to donate $1000 to Alex's Lemonade Stand, a national foundation to help fight childhood cancer. They will soon begin work on their second goal - to raise money to buy toys and supplies for the children affected by this spring's floods and the Joplin tornado. The lemonade stand is open each Friday afternoon near the Walnut Street entrance to the church. The children are learning important lessons about sharing and giving to others through their lemonade stand experience. (SMT photo by Annabeth Miller)