Covenant Presbyterian's After-School Program

This article appeared in Harrisonburg's Daily News Record

Written by: Vanessa Peters (Photo by Hannah Peters)

If you ask 10-year old Jose his favorite part of Covenant Presbyterian’s after-school program, he’ll show you a project he and his classmates designed with their “cool” teacher, Jeff.  A rustic, wooden cupboard emblazoned with a cross is spray-painted with one word: “4Given.”  Jose’s face lights up as he skips down the hall to show me this special project.  But even more significant is his response when asked what he’s learned during his 6 years of participation: “I was in the room with Sandy (Hernandez), and I heard the story of how Jesus was born.  I had heard it before, but not the whole story ... Now, I know that God sent Him to save us from our sins.” 
    Harrisonburg police officer Daniel, and his wife, Jessica, have been volunteering for several years.  They love the ministry because it’s something they can do with their toddler, Micah.  Since Jessica teaches 5th grade girls, Micah has “big sisters” to dote on him.  His parents say it helps him socialize with various ages and cultures.  Daniel notes that he really cares about the students and enjoys showing them a fun, positive side of law enforcement.  He sees the program as not only spreading the love of God, but also improving grades. 
    If you think this outreach is mostly about teachers giving to needy kids, though, you’d be wrong.  The plentiful volunteers I met (including several JMU students) share joyfully how much they’ve received from the children.  Hispanic mom Sandra struggles to summarize in English her experience serving her community.  “When they hug us,” she finally says with a broad smile, “it’s the best moment.”