Riding the bus to God
BY JULIA KENNEDY, Special to The Californian Friday, Jun 16 2006 6:05 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Jun 16 2006 6:09 PM
The white school bus rumbles through quiet south Bakersfield neighborhoods each Sunday morning.
It doesn't take summer vacation, even when the kids do.
Its total passenger load is about 50 young people -- a far cry from the thousands of children collected by fleets of church buses in similar, big-city ministries.
But the white school bus keeps going.
It travels the short distance to Harvest Free Will Baptist Church on McKee Road for a few hours of wholesome talk, Bible study, games, snacks and hugs. Afterward, it takes the kids back home.
To young men like 18-year-old Robert Bough, that bus means friendship. For girls like Beverly Venegas, 13, it has brought forth a puzzling yet solid relationship with her creator. To boys like Braxton Fitts, who is 11, it represents something his mother makes him do.
However, Braxton says it's not a bad way to spend a morning -- especially when he gets to play games with other kids.
Harvest Pastor Kurt Lindgren, who joined the church staff six years ago, wasn't sure how long Harvest's bus ministry has been happening. The bus captain, Jesse Rodriguez, has driven the bus for 13 years -- so the answer is, at least that long.
During that time, Rodriguez has seen plenty of new faces step on board. The hardest part of his ministry, he said, isn't getting up early or dealing with feisty children who are hungry for food and love.
It's seeing the kids lose interest.
"You're just like family with them and you're kidding around a lot ... you wish they'd make better choices," he said.
Lindgren said about 80 to 90 percent of the children stop coming as they get older, sometimes moving on to less spiritually fulfilling activities.
But while it can be hard to keep track of the kids, there are two things that keep the staff going. The first is a call to ministry. The second is hope.
"We pray and hope that someday, down the road, we've made some sort of impact," Lindgren said.
Sometimes, a bus rider will resurface to affirm that hope. Danyell McKee, 23, sat in Harvest's nursery on Sunday, cradling her 5-month-old daughter, Alidia. When she was 13, McKee remembers riding a bus to First Free Will Baptist Church on East California.
"At first, I was embarrassed to ride the bus," McKee recalled. "You don't want your friends to know you're going to church." She would duck out of sight as the bus pulled through her neighborhood.
"In a month or two, I started crouching not so far down," she said.
What made it fun? They sang songs. The adults were always happy to see the children. And it actually looked like someone cared.
"The church was my family," said McKee, who now attends Harvest. Having lost her mother at 13, McKee rode the bus for years and ended up being a bus captain in North Carolina while attending college. Sonya Fox, who drove the bus when McKee was a teen, later adopted McKee.
Rodriguez observes a few other church buses driving around at this time of morning. However, First Free Will Baptist is the only other one Lindgren knows of that is aimed specifically at children.
Lindgren said he used to hear more about other bus ministries in Bakersfield as he visited homes, but that they seem to have dissipated.
"It's a lot of work," he noted.
Churches must carry sufficient insurance for their bus programs, keep buses up to inspection codes and earn enough trust from parents -- something increasingly difficult in today's society.
Harvest establishes initial relationships with families by going door to door and handing out flyers each Saturday in neighborhoods that appear to have a lot of children.
The potential to win prizes keeps the kids motivated to attend those first few sessions.
On a recent Sunday, they got raffle tickets toward winning a Super Soaker water gun if they came to church, brought a Bible or brought a new friend.
Although the bus ministry focuses on children, there is no age limit for riding the bus, Lindgren said. There is no minimum age either, although kids must be potty trained.
"I'm going to wait for my little niece to get potty trained and then bring her," said Beverly, who has been riding the bus for a few years.
Ti-yante Patterson, 9, also had something to bring to church. He clutched four quarters in his hand.
"It's God's money," Ti-yante said. "I'm going to give it to him."
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BY JULIA KENNEDY, Special to The Californian Friday, Jun 16 2006 6:05 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Jun 16 2006 6:09 PM
The white school bus rumbles through quiet south Bakersfield neighborhoods each Sunday morning.
It doesn't take summer vacation, even when the kids do.
Its total passenger load is about 50 young people -- a far cry from the thousands of children collected by fleets of church buses in similar, big-city ministries.
But the white school bus keeps going.
It travels the short distance to Harvest Free Will Baptist Church on McKee Road for a few hours of wholesome talk, Bible study, games, snacks and hugs. Afterward, it takes the kids back home.
To young men like 18-year-old Robert Bough, that bus means friendship. For girls like Beverly Venegas, 13, it has brought forth a puzzling yet solid relationship with her creator. To boys like Braxton Fitts, who is 11, it represents something his mother makes him do.
However, Braxton says it's not a bad way to spend a morning -- especially when he gets to play games with other kids.
Harvest Pastor Kurt Lindgren, who joined the church staff six years ago, wasn't sure how long Harvest's bus ministry has been happening. The bus captain, Jesse Rodriguez, has driven the bus for 13 years -- so the answer is, at least that long.
During that time, Rodriguez has seen plenty of new faces step on board. The hardest part of his ministry, he said, isn't getting up early or dealing with feisty children who are hungry for food and love.
It's seeing the kids lose interest.
"You're just like family with them and you're kidding around a lot ... you wish they'd make better choices," he said.
Lindgren said about 80 to 90 percent of the children stop coming as they get older, sometimes moving on to less spiritually fulfilling activities.
But while it can be hard to keep track of the kids, there are two things that keep the staff going. The first is a call to ministry. The second is hope.
"We pray and hope that someday, down the road, we've made some sort of impact," Lindgren said.
Sometimes, a bus rider will resurface to affirm that hope. Danyell McKee, 23, sat in Harvest's nursery on Sunday, cradling her 5-month-old daughter, Alidia. When she was 13, McKee remembers riding a bus to First Free Will Baptist Church on East California.
"At first, I was embarrassed to ride the bus," McKee recalled. "You don't want your friends to know you're going to church." She would duck out of sight as the bus pulled through her neighborhood.
"In a month or two, I started crouching not so far down," she said.
What made it fun? They sang songs. The adults were always happy to see the children. And it actually looked like someone cared.
"The church was my family," said McKee, who now attends Harvest. Having lost her mother at 13, McKee rode the bus for years and ended up being a bus captain in North Carolina while attending college. Sonya Fox, who drove the bus when McKee was a teen, later adopted McKee.
Rodriguez observes a few other church buses driving around at this time of morning. However, First Free Will Baptist is the only other one Lindgren knows of that is aimed specifically at children.
Lindgren said he used to hear more about other bus ministries in Bakersfield as he visited homes, but that they seem to have dissipated.
"It's a lot of work," he noted.
Churches must carry sufficient insurance for their bus programs, keep buses up to inspection codes and earn enough trust from parents -- something increasingly difficult in today's society.
Harvest establishes initial relationships with families by going door to door and handing out flyers each Saturday in neighborhoods that appear to have a lot of children.
The potential to win prizes keeps the kids motivated to attend those first few sessions.
On a recent Sunday, they got raffle tickets toward winning a Super Soaker water gun if they came to church, brought a Bible or brought a new friend.
Although the bus ministry focuses on children, there is no age limit for riding the bus, Lindgren said. There is no minimum age either, although kids must be potty trained.
"I'm going to wait for my little niece to get potty trained and then bring her," said Beverly, who has been riding the bus for a few years.
Ti-yante Patterson, 9, also had something to bring to church. He clutched four quarters in his hand.
"It's God's money," Ti-yante said. "I'm going to give it to him."
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posted by Julia Kennedy at 7:35 PM
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