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2010-06-01 issue:

Adults personalize Bibles for youth

by Anna Groff

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Members at Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship, Boise, Idaho, wanted to give Bibles to their first graders as gifts, so they selected The Bible for Children from Good Books.

However, the members hoped to personalize the Bibles further, says member Beth Landis. Landis is chair of the leadership team at Hyde Park.

So for one month the Bibles were kept in the back of the church. Before and after the service, members signed their name beside their favorite Bibles story and add a comment or thought if they wished.

Hyde Park pastor Linda Nafziger-Meiser, on the right, shows the children their "signed" Bibles. Photo by Jack Swaim.

On May 2 during the church service, the children received their Bibles. Since this was the first time, they gave Bibles to kindergarten through fourth-graders. The members stated the children's names during a time of blessing.

"A special point was made to the Sunday school teachers and parents to encourage the children to bring their Bibles and they will be more thoughtfully included in the worship and Sunday school for the next few weeks," says Landis.

Next Hyde Park will gift Bibles to their high school students. This time members will sign their name by their favorite Bibles verses, instead of stories.

"Apparently my nephew spends a lot of time paging through his Bible just looking for the names and comments in the margins of the Bible," says Landis. "What a great way to get to know the Bible, as well as have a lasting relationship with members of the congregation."

The idea to personalize the children's Bible came from Belmont Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Ind., where Beth Landis’ sister, Lois Oyer, attends.



Mandy Yoder, a pastor at Belmont, said her congregation implemented this activity last fall. A group working on the Faith Marker Ministry – a broader plan for marking faith steps in the lives of individuals – came up with the idea.

When the sixth-graders at Belmont were assigned to their adult mentors, the children also received Bibles with Scripture verses or Bible stories highlighted or underlined by adults. A couple weeks before the dedication service, Yoder asked the parents of the sixth-graders to invite people in the church close to the children to sign the Bibles.

"It really meant a lot to the kids," Yoder said. "Parents reported that the kids were into it."

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