|PIC1|Qualified teacher and author Dawn Getley will be sharing the gospel with over 10,000 schoolchildren as part of her service with Open Air Campaingers Ministries (OAC) in the south west branch of England.

Operating in Plymouth, she will be visiting 50 out of the 80 or so primary schools in the city this term, speaking to a total of around 10,400 children.

The children will hear Ms Getley deliver the gospel message numerous times throughout their early school life, some as many as 18 (three times a year for six years).

She said of her work, "It's important to catch the children's attention at the beginning of an assembly. I start with a puppet Horace to engage with the children.

"Horace may behave rudely. This leads into the story to show how Horace needs to sort himself out."

She continued: "Telling Bible stories can be done creatively so that children relate and identify with the biblical narrative. They see how they fit in and they meet Jesus. I want them to experience the awe and wonder of God."

Every year, Ms Getley organises a training seminar for those who want to be especially trained to effectively equipped to take primary school assemblies.

Although working in schools may not produce much feedback about how effective the outreach is, Ms Getley is still optimistic her work will make a real impact.

"I was very encouraged by a recent email from a friend in Bristol who wrote, 'I met a young man in Bath today who said he does ladder lettering after learning from you at Alphington School in Exeter in the 1980s. He looked back to those days as fundamental in his decision to follow Jesus.'

"It's great to hear every now and again that the message has had an effect," she said.