This past April, I went to Spring Harvest at the Minehead site for the first time since 2019. I had been to the Skegness site the previous two years, but seeing as the guests in Minehead tend to be mostly a completely separate bunch of people, I had the chance to reacquaint myself with folks I hadn’t seen for quite a long time.
It was lovely. There was a lot of catching up with guests I knew well. And there were also some very encouraging conversations with folks I knew less well, but who were very familiar with my books. Many of these were younger people, using the books in their churches or to tell God’s story to their children. And many of them, coincidentally, were familiar with the books because their own parents had read my books to them!
Yes, it was a regular reminder of just how old I am. But in a good way. The Lion Storyteller Bible will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year so it makes sense that it should have passed through more than one generation. And the same thing is true, I am sure, for Open the Book.
Someone who was a ten-year-old in 2000 is now thirty-four, so as we celebrate our 25th anniversary, there is no doubt in my mind that we are currently telling God’s story to children whose parents heard us tell those stories to them, way back when this all began. And that is quite a marvellous thing.
When Open the Book started, no one knew how far it would spread or for how long it would go on. And it’s largely down to your faithfulness and commitment that we can look around the world and see Open the Book groups springing up on other continents or look into our own schools and see the faces of children whose parents sat there before us on those same hall floors.
So let’s celebrate! There’s not going to be an official tour or anything but there’s nothing keeping you and your team from raising a mug, a glass or a piece of cake to 25 years of telling God’s story.
It’s a long time, yeah. But in a good way!
Ideas for celebrating Open the Book with your church
Share the Open the Book promo video
Monday 2 September 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm, Chertsey
Tuesday 3 September 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm, Blandford
Thursday 5 September 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm, East Horsley
Monday 16 September 2024, 9.45 am–12.45 pm, Yelverton
Monday 16 September 2024, 1.00–4.00 pm, Isle of Man
Tuesday 1 October 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm, Thirsk
Monday 25 November 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm, York
Wednesday 14 May 2025, 10.00 am–1.00 pm, Swindon (includes a Drama Workshop)
Thursday 12 September 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm [Fully booked]
Thursday 19 September 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm [Fully booked]
Thursday 3 October 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm
Thursday 10 October 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm [Fully booked]
Monday 14 October 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm [Fully booked]
Monday 4 November 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm
Thursday 28 November 2024, 10.00 am–1.00 pm [Fully booked]
With every blessing as we head into a new school year.
The Open the Book Team
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