Baptist and Reflector
Children and leaders gather for a time of exciting worship and learning during Middle Tennessee JAM 2018.
MOUNT JULIET — Middle Tennessee JAM (Journey Adventures in Missions) 2018, a missions event for boys and girls in grades 1-6, including Girls in Action, Royal Ambassadors and Children in Action, took place Sept. 29 at Victory Baptist Church in Mount Juliet.
JAM allows children from across the state to come together to learn more about what it means to know God and make him known, said Juliana Wilson, communications/childhood missions specialist for Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union. The Middle Tennessee event was the first of three JAM events which will take place in each grand division of the state, she added.
The group of 275 children, leaders and volunteers attending JAM learned fun new ways they could make Christ known to their families, communities, country and world.
This year’s event centered around the theme: Missions Grand Prix: Racing to Make Christ Known.
IMB missionary Heather McAfee talks about life in West Africa with a JAM participant.
Children participated in a time of joyful worship led by Jennifer Akers, kids worship pastor at Rolling Hills Community Church in Franklin, hands-on missions learning activities and met NAMB and IMB missionaries. Each group participated in rotations that included a “Pit Crew Meeting” (small group Bible and missions study), “Mechanics at Work” (hands-on ministry project) and “The Race is On – Missions and Ministry Fair” (an opportunity to meet missionaries, play games and learn about ministries around the world). Parents and leaders attended a 50-minute conference led by Donna Blaydes, childhood specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
In addition to missions learning, JAM participants partnered with Compassion Ministries to collect supplies for homeless ministries across Tennessee. Together the participants collected and prepared over 400 bags filled with basic personal care items for homeless ministries.
“It is great to see future generations learning about missions, getting excited about knowing Christ and discovering ways they can make Him known,” said Vickie Anderson, Tennessee WMU executive director.
JAM started as a Girls in Action event in 1989 and continues as a missions discipleship event for all children across the state. The East Tennessee and West Tennessee JAMs will take place Oct. 27 at First Baptist Church in Dandridge and The Church at Sugar Creek in Humboldt.
If your group would like to attend this year’s event visit tnbaptist.org/wmu or contact Wilson at [email protected].