SIDNEY -- Several years ago, the directors of a youth program through Evangelical Free Church decided it was easier to take the message to the children than the children to the church.

More than 15 years later, The Ark Ministry, "Tuesday Church" as many children and their families know it, is recognized among the neighborhood in north Sidney. In the early days, the youth program consisted of the church taking a bus to the north side of Sidney and transporting children to the church. By some accounts, children and adults would come pouring out of doorways as the bus approached, waving it down for more children to board.

Soon it made more sense to move the program to the neighborhood. Brent Jeffers, who retired from the program due to health reasons, said the program started when church leaders recognized the north Sidney was being overlooked. 

The Ark Ministry was established in 2005 to bring God's light to an underserved community in Sidney, according to an account provided by the program's directors. It is a weekly program held every Tuesday evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The program is supported by the Sidney Evangelical Free Church and operated by church and community volunteers.

The weekly program is designed to offer children a meal, followed by songs and a Bible lesson and a craft time afterward. The program is divided by age: kindergarten through fourth grade, and grades 5 and 6. For a time, children were sent home with food for the home. Because of availability, that has changed to snack bags. 

The Tuesday routine changes periodically. One Tuesday a month is usually "Birthday Night" when the children can go to the church fellowship hall, or a park in the summer, just to have fun. Children have also been taken to movies, ice cream treats at local restaurants and special attractions. 

For more information about The Ark, contact the Evangelical Free Church in Sidney at 308-254-6102.