"Bob, that Bible Club thing may work in Oklahoma, but it won't work in California."  Guess what? It is working.  "It won't work in New England". Umm, it is working.  "Rural farming communities are just too hard transportation wise for that to work".  Let me tell you about Ryal, Oklahoma:

A little over a month ago a couple called me from Ryal, Oklahoma.  When told me where they were from, I had to ask them where that was  because I have lived in Oklahoma since 1980 and NEVER heard of Ryal.  They told me it was near Henryetta, OK (The small town that former Dallas Cowboy superstar Troy Aikman was from.)  What Don and Kathy, the Parent sponsors, had failed to tell me is that Ryal is 15 miles outside Henryetta into, well, THE BOONIES! 

I had been told by a couple of people that launching a before school Bible Club in rural areas couldn't work.  I can't say that I believed it, but I didn't challenge it either.  The Ryal Public SCHOOL (Not SCHOOLS) has a total of 88 children in attendance.  The club is seeing an average of in excess of 50% in attendance during each of it's first three weeks.  The second week only 13 children in the entire school were not in attendance.  These kids are excited and the goal is to reach the entire school.  Actually the goal is that reaching the entire community spins out of this club.