Running, jumping, singing, and dancing amidst a sea of little people. Heat, humidity, freezies, water balloons, and beads of sweat rolling down my face. A cacophony of voices, laughing out loud, and going home every night tired but smiling. If any of this sounds familiar then perhaps, like me, you spent a week at our SummerJam kids program.
When Pastor Linda asked if I wanted to be involved at SummerJam I immediately said “yes”, but I had no idea what I was in for or all that I would experience. If I had to boil it all down, I’d highlight three things:
First, the kids. One of the things that has always endeared me to Jesus is His profound love for children. With needs all around Him, and adults clamoring for attention, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus would pause in the presence of children so that He could be with them and bless them.
Children have a way of seeing the world that never ceases to inspire me. Common, everyday things that have long ago ceased to catch my eye, they behold in wonder and amazement: a bird flying, a flower blooming, the sound a truck makes. The enthusiasm children carry around in their bodies reminds me that life is truly a gift; a gift worth celebrating. I suspect at times Jesus felt the urge to leave behind the adult crowds, so that He could roam the countryside with children: playing, seeing, and worshiping as they do.
At Worship Centre this week, it quickly became apparent that worship would involve my whole body, not just my vocal chords. Our volunteers taught us actions and dance to go along with the music and words. Now you have to understand something, I am quite possibly the world’s worst dancer. Some might say I have two left feet, others might call me rhythmically challenged, but the bottom line is: I’m really bad. If it came down to a dance-off between myself and Frankenstein, I have no doubt I would be eating his proverbial “dust”. And yet, I have never felt so free in worship as I did among the children at SummerJam. Together we attuned our hearts, our voices, and our bodies to the worship of God and somehow it didn’t matter how spastic I was; what mattered was that God was watching and listening while we gave our best to Him.
I spent the past week as the leader of the “Mighty Moose” team, alongside 11 children. Each of the 11 are special and unique, each one a little image-bearer, each one a gift from God to this world, and to me. And for a week, it was such a privilege to be with them, to listen to them, to treasure them, and I trust, to bless them.
Second, the volunteers.
I had so much fun being a part of a team of 100 or so volunteers that worked together to make SummerJam happen. As I interacted with other volunteers, what struck me again and again was the diversity of the team. We had 12 year olds volunteering alongside grandmas and grandpas, and every age in between. We had counselors, and musicians, and organizers, and actors. We had people who made breakfasts and snacks, people to welcome kids at the door, people to run games in the parking lot; we had dancers, people to run crafts, and people to run sound and video.
SummerJam reminded me that it is possible for the entire church to function like a body; each member of a body (or church) is important and valuable, and each member of a body (or church) has a significant role to play. This understanding is at the heart of what it means to foster a “shared” life together. This past week I saw the value of interdependence; both in principle and in practice.
In a week’s time, I met dozens of volunteers who are committed to God and to kids; I found myself saying “thank you” again and again as I encountered their willingness to serve God and others. And I trust in the course of last week, they met a pastor who is maybe more “like them” then they realized.
Finally, mission.
Over the course of the week, we were challenged with the idea of “mission”. “Mission” is not something that happens on the other side of the world; “mission” happens whenever and wherever we love, bless, give and serve in Jesus’ name. There were plenty of opportunities for mission to be lived out during the week, and we were taught in our Bible Centre that we can live for Jesus wherever find ourselves.
It just so happened that Geff and Christine Harada, and their four kids, Jacob, Nathan, Elliot, and Grace were the focus of our missions giving this past week. Geff and Christine and their family are heading back to a remote area of the Philippines where they will be living among a tribal group and sharing the good news of Jesus. Our kids took on the challenge, raiding piggy banks, mattresses, and even mom and dad’s wallets in order to give to a very special project. All the money given will be used to put on a SummerJam experience for the tribal children; altogether, our kids raised over $1700.00. I’m not sure how well a “Mighty Moose” will translate among tribal children from the Philippines, but I trust they will have as much fun as we did.
Hats off to Pastor Linda, Simon Koldyk, and David Macgregor; each one did a fantastic job of organizing a week I’ll not soon forget. For those you who are wondering whether participating in SummerJam is worthy of a week of your life, trust me, take the plunge and your life won’t be the same.
