By: Crystal Mayo, BABES COO
We are elated to announce that Second Baptist Church of Detroit is our 21st Century model church for BABES at Worship. Since the first Sunday in October, Certified BABES Presenters have been teaching BABES at Worship (also known as Faith-Based BABES) in Sunday school classes ages 4-14.
The first BABES at Worship model was back in 1993 when BABES’ Founder and CEO Rev. Dr. Lottie Jones Hood, was senior pastor at First Congregational Church in Detroit. At the time, BABES had been operating as a children’s prevention program for 16 years and she had been pastor for about a year.
The idea developed from one of Reverend Lottie’s visions for BABES to build BABES Communities across the country and the world. Building a BABES Community is a community-based comprehensive, primary prevention program, designed to prevent substance abuse among youth by engaging the support of all segments of the community. One of the segments is Faith-Based Organizations.
Reflecting some 25 years ago, Reverend Lottie states that, “Providing BABES to children in churches enhanced existing teachings with substance abuse prevention education living skills that was intended to serve children in all aspects of their lives.”
The BABES at Worship first model at First Congregational was funded for $90,000 by the Kellogg Foundation for trainings and materials. In two-day sessions, 20 adults from seven Detroit area religious groups were trained in Basic BABES and learned how to tell the BABES stories and use the BABES puppets. After their training, they became Certified BABES Presenters qualified to go back to their churches or houses of worship able to effectively present BABES at Worship. Religious groups represented were Roman Catholic, Methodist, Pentecostal, Baptist, Muslim and Non-Denominational and Apostolic.
This same format has now carried over to Second Baptist. Today, Certified BABES Presenters have coordinated the Sunday school lessons with BABES’ healthy living skills lessons. The lessons that have been taught thus far include: Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Issac and Rebekah and Jabob and Esau.
“In each of the Biblical stories, the young people are referred back to BABES’ lessons dealing in self-image and feelings; decision making and peer pressure, and coping skills. The class is very engaged when they have to relate to the BABES puppets with the Biblical stories . . . what they have expressed is that bringing the BABES’ puppet’s characteristics into the Biblical storyline is helpful in teaching them the importance of basically good decision making,” BABES Certified Trainer of Presenters and BABES board member Yvonne Knox commented.
Priscilla Robinson, Superintendent of Sunday school at Second Baptist added that, “The general response from the young people is that they really enjoy the classes enough to want to return the following Sunday.” Robinson adds, “BABES not only encompasses the Sunday school lesson assigned for a particular Sunday, it is a platform allowing opportunities to tap into many of the worldly problems and concerns the young people are wrestling with in their everyday lives.”
BABES will be offering BABES at Worship to churches surrounding the Renaissance High School area the first of the year.
For more information about BABES at Worship and/or how you can Build a BABES Community within your community, call 248-234-8660. In the words of BABES’ Puppet Donovan Dignity: “It’s As Easy As 1-2-3.”
