By Jessyka Albert

It was Easter weekend at Boulder Church, and my brave ONEL1FE students (our youth group) rose to the challenge of running activities for the kids during the Easter concert Saturday afternoon. Quickly, we ate our lunches and began to set up tables at various stations: games, coloring, Play-Doh, crafts. At 1:30 p.m., everything felt perfectly organized. I even had a schedule for each station, each game, and even snack time. Everything was going to go as planned! (Maybe you’ve realized that I’m not a parent.) As 2 o’clock grew closer, parents began dropping off their kids. Slowly, and then all at once, my schedule was no longer my schedule.

Some kids wanted to draw right away. Others were already bribing the ONEL1FErs to give them goldfish and juice boxes. And who could say “no” to those puppy dog eyes looking up at you asking for a balloon? By no means do I regret my beautiful run sheet schedule, registration process, or the time I spent in organizing the afternoon. It provided safety, activities, and, overall, set up the environment for a fun afternoon.

As I watched the program that I had so thoughtfully organized begin to diminish, my eyes caught hold of some- thing so incredible. I witnessed one of the ONEL1FE boys surrounded by seven-year-olds filling up balloons, remembering, “You had a pink one, right?” when a girl came to him in tears because hers was stuck on the ceiling. I laughed as a group of teens and kids ran back and forth playing different animals in the most creative “Red Light/Green Light” game I have ever seen! My heart melted when I saw a soon-to-be senior in high school sit at a table with a two-year-old completely engrossed in conversation over Play-Doh and colored pencils.

As moving as these situations were, I still hadn’t completely shaken “the schedule” until five-year-old Ellie King grabbed my hand and said, “Pastor Jessyka, will you come dance with me?” I don’t care how old you are, what your religion is, or if you have two left feet, when a kid asks you to dance with them, you dance! As I twirled around with this little ballerina, I stopped worrying that it was now 3:00 p.m. (We were all going to have snack time together, but let’s remember, most of these kids already bribed the youth and had been snacking since 2:03 p.m.) As I spun in circles with Ellie, I was able to see what was happening around the entire room—connection. Teens connecting with kids. Playing, laughing, running, talking, eating, creating, and even dancing.

When was the last time you were asked, “Will you dance with me?” When was the last time you set aside your agenda to fulfill the agenda of a five-year-old? The Seventh-day Adventist Church has so much to offer. Your local church has so much to offer, but you have the most to offer a child when you decide to show up in their life. So often we fall victim to the trap of programming because it pulls kids, youth, young adults, people of all ages, together. Numbers look great! Pro- grams look great! But you know what really looks great? Watching teens interact with kids, learning their names, their favorite colors, watching what they learned in ballet class.

We’ve all heard that chilling statistic—that 60-80 percent of our kids will leave the church—but what about the 20-40 percent who stay? What’s with them? Researchers have found that one of the most common factors of those young adults who have chosen to stay in the church is this: Over the span of their childhood, they have had five or more mentors (non-family and non-church-employee) from the church who have invested in their lives.

The statistics of young people leaving the church are jarring, but we can learn from those who stay. The answer is not in more programs, stronger theological arguments, or “hipper” language. The answer is you showing up in the life of a kid. As a follower of Jesus, I have decided to dance. So, will you dance with us?

–Jessyka Albert is associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado. Email her at: [email protected]