Good News Club Results in Exponential Growth

Silver Spring, Md.: With the help of a Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCM/D) Strengthening Churches Grant (SCG), Colesville Baptist Church (CBC) has seen God move in some amazing ways through their Good News Clubs at two local elementary schools.

Senior Pastor Britt Groom and his wife, Hannah, began serving at the church in 2020 amid COVID. “That was really hard,” said Hannah. Attendance was low, and there were few youth—just three children and one teen were attending sporadically. However, that changed with programs like the Good News Club through a Child Evangelism Fellowship program in local schools. God used the clubs to exponentially grow CBC, especially the children’s and youth ministries.

“The Holy Spirit was in it,” said Hannah, who started and oversees the clubs. That’s in addition to her full-time library/media specialist job.

Hannah shared her thankfulness for the funds provided through the SCG grant. “That helped us with the materials, to rent the rooms, and to buy snacks and other supplies.”

When the church started the club, with games and Bible studies, at a local school, it immediately took off. The kids enjoyed it and responded to the Bible teaching. Clubs meet on Thursdays after school for an hour and a half. The intention is to teach kids about Jesus and His gospel and provide these children and families with the opportunity to be discipled further at CBC.

Club leaders invited members and their families to the church Christmas party last month, and 31 kids and parents showed up. “In addition to the children from the Good News Club, CBC is now ministering to 53 kids,” Hannah said, “and we’ve had five baptisms.”

“We started with the little kids coming to the clubs, and they were excited to share about it with their families.” This led their older siblings to start attending the youth group. Some of the youth went to Skycroft’s Crossings camp this past summer,” said Hannah.

According to Hannah, club leaders began building relationships with the families—a necessary key component to running a successful club. The first club came to a close near the end of two summers ago, but the relationships have continued at the church. Friendships have been formed through other meetings where the members of the CBC Church went to the community to feed the families breakfast and meet some moms over lunch. One family joined the church and is active. Also, youth who started attending church have participated in Christmas and Easter programs and served in various areas.

The church is excited about what God is doing. Hannah said she has been sharing the news from the clubs, and the congregation is thrilled and gives God the glory for what is happening. “It’s a fantastic ministry,” she said.

Hannah explained that Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Good News Clubs can meet in public schools after school hours on the same terms as other community groups—with parents’ permission. “That’s an amazing opportunity,” Hannah says.

At the end of the school year, 2023, Hannah started another club at a different school, wanting to expand and give other kids and families a chance to know God. Once again, many children showed up, and it continues to grow. She hopes to start more clubs and pass them on to other leaders to multiply the success. The need is great, she said, and the opportunities are abundant. But workers are few.

Hannah Groom and Sheila Piccone.

The church is praying that God sends workers to assist in this ministry to grow the clubs and minister to those now attending the church. Also, many families want to visit the church but have no transportation.

Hannah said the fruit is ripe for the community she has been ministering to for the last two years. Her model of evangelism and discipleship has been to go to where the people are, first to build relationships and then to share the good news, and finally to engage people in a meaningful relationship through Bible Study, church attendance, and serving. “We need to go to where the people are and meet them there,” she said. She envisions a church plant where those families live, which would allow them to walk to a place of worship within one to five minutes. That would eliminate the transportation issue.

She is seeking a team of believers “who are obedient to God’s calling to be in the frontline evangelism and love God and the people in the community fiercely.” Hannah said she believes that God never uses just one person to do His work, but a group of people who say, “Here I am…use me!”

If you are interested in partnering with the church in this vision and mission, contact Hannah at [email protected],