Green Pastures Opens Impressive New Children’s Play Area

A brand-new children’s play area was officially opened on Easter Sunday at Ballymena Fellowship, Green Pastures.

Around 300 people at the Ballee-based ministry had just finished worship at their Resurrection Sunday Service when scores of excited children sprinted into the impressive new arena. Parents, youth, and general church families attended the special launch of a complex that will eventually be open to the local community.

No fewer than 80 kids had a ball exploring every inch of the new play area.

Commented Green Pastures Senior Pastor Jeff Wright. “It was an amazing day and so beautiful for the children. When a nation or a people knows God, it displays beauty, creativity, and excellence in everything it does and becomes more like its creator. However, when it forgets God, it switches to survival mode. It’s obvious from the beauty and detail of the GP kids’ playground that this church is nearing revival and not survival.”

 Earlier, the pastor shared the vision and heart behind the new playground in a short word. He thanked everyone in the church who had been working hard for months behind the scenes—designing, building, painting, and creating the space. He then invited James McMillan, one of the men who led the project, to cut the ribbon to open the space. Naturally, chaos ensued as the children took to their new space like ducks to water. 

 The facility includes a massive soft play area with slides, trampolines, and a ball pit. A tiny tot’s area exists in the soft play area, too. There is a mini football stadium where they can play football and a little crowd to cheer them on.

 Then there is Happy Street, which is like something out of Disneyland. It boasts a little grocery shop, police station, vets, doctors, beauty parlour, a pizza parlour and even a fire station with a fire truck sticking out the back that they can drive in.

The entire village has a little road that runs the whole way through the Playground and a white picket fence around it. There’s also a chalk wall for little creators and a prayer wall where kids and parents can post their prayer requests as the rest of the church locks arms with them and joins in their Prayers, too. Green Pastures is a House of Prayer, believing that when everyone, including children, prays, something even more extraordinary happens. 

If all of that isn’t enough, there is a modern coffee area to hype the parents to look after the hyper kids. It is nicely decorated with tables and sofas and makes an excellent place for parents to sit and chat, relax, and get extra fuel as their kids play. 

The area is for tots, right up to the P7. On the Sunday opening, there was also a Youth session for one day only, meaning all the young people got to experience it for themselves, and they had the best time ever.

When catering facilities are added, the playground will eventually open for the public soon (including birthday parties), and parents/guardians can get a light snack and a hot drink. Currently, the playground will only be used during church services every Sunday at kids' church and during our parents and tot’s group (called Noah’s Ark every Thursday at 10 am). 

 If anyone would like any more information or enquires, they can give Green Pastures church a call or email info@pastures.co.uk