THEY’LL be hiding behind the sofa at a children’s holiday club in Emsworth this summer as they watch Dr Who materialising throughout the Bible.

Tom Kennar gets to grips with K9 and a cyberman in his new role as Doctor Who

Worshippers will use the popularity of the recently-revived TV series to appeal to five to 11-year-olds. The week-long holiday club, entitled ‘God’s Heroes’, will involve the Doctor travelling in time to meet Biblical characters such as Moses, David, Jonah and John the Baptist.

The curate, the Rev Tom Kennar, will dress up as the Doctor, taking his cue from the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant incarnations of the famous time traveller. Some of the material will be taken from Launchpad, a book of all-age worship material pioneered by St Jude’s Church in Southsea.

It’s one of several clubs run by churches in south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight throughout the summer holidays that aim to help children learn more about God.

Tom Kennar said: “Any child that watches Dr Who will be familiar with the idea of time travel, so they’ll understand going back in time to meet Biblical characters. I can’t promise there’ll be any Daleks or Cybermen, but we will be meeting some of God’s heroes of the Bible, and some genuine villains. I watched Dr Who myself in the Tom Baker era and I watch it now with my daughter, so it’s great to be able to play the part myself.”

Around 120 children will enjoy daily episodes of Dr Who alongside water play, cooking and craft activities. It happens from July 25-28 in St James’ School in Emsworth.

The holiday club in Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight, will be a party on the beach. Six to 10-year-olds will watch puppets re-enacting Biblical stories and see clowns making them laugh. They’ll sing songs, play games, make craft items and learn about some of Jesus’ miracles during the Ventnor Beach Party.

The week-long event is organised by churches of all denominations in the town working together. It happens from July 31 until August 4, halfway down Ventnor beach, from 10.30am-12.15pm each day, and attracts hundreds of children. This year’s theme is ‘Mission Possible’ – outlining some of Jesus’s miracles.

Ann Caldwell, from St Catherine’s Church, the chairman of the beach party mission, said: “Because we attract some of the holidaymakers who are already on the beach, we never quite know how many children we will have. Last year it was 143. It’s a Churches Together event, so it’s organised by St Catherine’s, Holy Trinity, the Methodist and Baptist churches. One of the deacons from the Baptist church does clowning, and we also tell Bible stories using puppets.”

This year’s dedication service for the beach party, at 6.30pm on July 30, will also happen outside – on the beach or in Ventnor Park – if the weather is fine. If it’s wet, it will be in Holy Trinity Church. And a final family service will happen at 6.30pm in the Methodist church, at which children will show their parents what they’ve done.

The biggest holiday club in Portsmouth’s Anglican diocese is the Denmead Activities and Bible Club (DABS), which is also organised by churches of all denominations working together. It celebrates its 26th year this summer, and attracts 300 children from the village – with others often turned away because there isn’t enough space.

Several marquees are erected outside Denmead Community Centre for the week, and children enjoy drama, music, craft, art, water fights, games and – for the older children – outings. This year’s DABS happens from August 8-11 with the traditional family service rounding off the week at All Saints Church on August 13.

The West Wight Holiday Bible Club is another annual event organised by churches in the area working together. This year’s theme is ‘Pyramid Rock’ and focuses on the story of Joseph. Around 100 five to 12-year-olds will watch videos of the story, take part in activities, play games and make craft items.

They will meet from 10am to 12.30pm each day from August 14-18 at All Saints Primary School, Freshwater. And there will be a barbecue for families on the Thursday lunchtime.

One of the popular themes this year is ‘Landlubbers’ – a Scripture Union holiday club resource based around the idea of pirates that teaches children more about the apostle Paul’s missionary journeys.

Hambledon’s holiday club, from August 1-4 in the village hall, will take that theme with its five to 11-year-olds. It will feature stories, music, craft and games, and will also be followed by a presentation service in church at 1pm on August 4, when children will show their parents what they’ve done.

The Liphook Lightshow will also take the ‘Landlubbers’ theme for their holiday club at Liphook Church Centre. Almost 100 children aged five to 11 will see the Xtend puppets in action and enjoy Bible teaching, activities, craft, games and music, each morning from July 25-28.

This summer’s event will be one of the first responsibilities of the parish’s new children’s worker, Debbie MacGuiag, who actually started the Lightshow herself as a volunteer 11 years ago.

And children will celebrate Christmas in the middle of August in Niton, on the Isle of Wight. The annual children’s musical activity week will have a festive theme this year. Children will rehearse a musical version of the nativity story during the week of August 14-18 before performing in St John’s Church, Niton on the Friday evening.

Around 30 children are expected to take part in the annual event, which differs from a normal holiday club in that children focus simply on preparing and presenting songs. Five to 12-year-olds will tell the story of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus as if it was a bedtime story. All the children will be dressed in nightshirts and pyjamas, and then take on various roles in the musical, entitled Rock the Cradle.

Music director Carol Court said: “We’ve chosen a Christmas theme because there’s usually so much going on at Christmas that you couldn’t do this then! It will be a chance for the children to think about the Christmas story and what it means. This is the fourth year that we will have run an activity week, and the number of children involved is gradually rising.”

The childcare holiday club run by Swishers flc at St Wilfrid’s Church in Fratton is slightly different - it’s a secular scheme that parents pay for, which runs from July 25 to August 25. This year, leaders will offer one afternoon each week when they will help children explore faith.

Those activities include a Passover meal (July 28), an animal masks workshop (August 3), a circus skills workshop (August 9), music and jewellery-making with recycled materials (August 15) and makeovers (August 21). Contact Swishers on 023-9285 1427 or swishers.flc@ntlworld.com for more details.