Level Up Sunday

It Takes a Village

Every year on Level Up Sunday we celebrate the students who are moving up into their next ministry, from kids to youth, from youth to young adults. This year we tried something new. Instead of only watching videos and hearing announcements, we invited four parents to join a panel and tell us the truth about what it has been like to raise their children inside the life of this church.

We are grateful to Kate, Mike, Rachelle, and Mark for their willingness to share. Some of us have a clear picture of what happens in kids ministry, youth, and young adults. Many of us only catch a glimpse. These parents opened a window for the whole congregation, and what came through it was encouraging.

They Are Learning Truth

The first thing that came up was truth. In a world flooded with information and short on wisdom, one mother said her greatest gratitude is that her daughters are learning what is actually true, and that they are learning it from the Lord through their pastors.

We want to say clearly that this truth does not come through a single sermon. It comes through small groups, through conversations, through text messages, and through one on one mentoring. It would be a mistake to reduce discipleship to a message on Sunday. It arrives in many forms, over many years, from many voices who love these kids.

Community, Not Just a Program

When we asked how leaders and volunteers have made a difference, the answer kept coming back to community.

Rachelle put it this way. The leaders invest in our children and they invest in our family. They mentor and disciple. When kids go through the hard stuff, the breakups, the friendships that end, the sudden losses, the church walks alongside the family. We do not do this parenting thing alone. We do it together.

She described sitting at a campfire the night before, listening to her now grown children plan how they would keep investing in one another over the summer. Those are not programs. Those are lifelong friendships and lifelong change, formed by simply being plugged in.

Kate said the leaders have made her daughters bold. Because of what they are learning and what they see modeled in front of them, her girls are not ashamed to say they belong to Jesus. They have become courageous.

Seen and Known

Mike shared how his family experienced this from their very first week. Coming out of the pandemic, Word of Life was the first in person church they returned to, and his kids immediately knew this was home. They were not looking for anywhere else.

He talked about a son who was anxious and hesitant to participate. When the family let the leaders know he would need extra care, every week after that Michael was personally greeted and walked to where he needed to be. Another week, when their daughter was not feeling well and had to leave, Pastor Lisa followed up later with a text just to ask how she was doing. His kids feel accepted. They know they are loved. They trust their leaders.

When the Holy Spirit Moves

Kate told us about a retreat where something wonderful happened to one of the girls during worship. The young woman began to sense the Holy Spirit and felt herself being drawn to the floor. She wondered whether she was doing this on her own or whether the Lord was truly moving. The leaders and pastors gathered around her and prayed. A word of knowledge came, not from one person but from two, and they encouraged her to say what the Holy Spirit was telling her to say. She could hardly believe what she experienced. When Kate got the phone call, all she could do was thank Jesus.

Hard Seasons Walked Through Together

We did not shy away from the difficult moments, because the parents did not either.

Mark shared that shortly after our young adults ministry began, his kids lost two of their friends within the span of a couple of months. That was their Goliath. Being part of the young adults gave them a place to be with others who are like minded, a place where iron sharpens iron.

Rachelle spoke about the transition from WOLCA to public school and all the pressures and temptations that came with it. There were seasons her kids gave in and tasted what the world offers. There were nights she was in tears, praying, not knowing what to do because her child was in crisis. In those moments the first people she called were the leaders sitting right beside her, along with Pastor Annie and Pastor Lisa. Her kids got through it. Today they are strong adults and Christ followers. They are not perfect, but they know where their hope comes from.

She also named something many parents feel but rarely say out loud. Sometimes our kids are more willing to talk to a trusted leader than to us. As parents we love them, but we cannot always keep a steady face. She remembered her youngest turning to Pastor Annie in a hard moment, and rather than being offended she was grateful he had that relationship. When he was ready, he came back and they prayed and talked it through together. This is a joint venture. We were never meant to do it alone. We are the body of Christ, and we raise our children together.

Mike shared that during recent medical issues in their family, they reached out and asked the youth leaders to give the kids an extra hug when they saw them. Pastor Annie texts encouragement, and even sends actual cards in the mail with the kids names on them and a scripture inside. His kids are not used to that kind of encouragement. Who sends snail mail anymore? Watching those small, faithful interactions has meant the world.

New Conversations at Home

We asked what conversations are happening now that were not happening a few years ago.

Mike, a teacher, uses the twenty minute drive home to ask what the kids learned. He knows that when kids can tell it back to you, it is starting to sink in. Weeks or even months later, when a situation comes up at school, he can point back to a story they already learned and talked about at church.

Mark, with older kids now, said the conversation has moved to purity and to praying for their future spouses, something the family has been doing since the kids were little. Keep yourself pure and holy before the Lord, set apart.

Kate said the questions her teenage girls are now asking make her proud as a believing mother. They ask how to know if someone is a Christian. Her practical advice was to ask whether the person believes in Jesus, and then, with a smile, to notice whether they are generous. Everything else, she said, they can ask Pastor Annie.

Carry the Torch

When we turned toward the future, Mark reminded us that all of Christianity, this room and everything beyond it, started with twelve people. The torch was passed to the next generation, and here we are. We need the younger generation to carry it forward. The young adults ministry is a great place for them to keep growing once they age out of youth.

Rachelle said the kids are our future. Their passion for the Lord and their desire to be together to talk about the things of Christ is amazing. We could use a little of that fire in our own homes. She shared a moment from a recent concert where the students were dancing without shame, unabandoned, going full force ahead. That is what she wants to see more of.

Mark added a story he could barely finish without getting choked up. At that same concert, his son and a friend wandered off and ended up witnessing to one of the security guards. That young man may be coming to young adults with them. The next generation is not only being reached. They are already reaching others.

They Belong to God

We closed by asking what the church family should understand about NextGen ministry that might not always be obvious.

Mike pointed back to something he heard Pastor Tom say early on, that the kids will be invested in because they are the next generation, and it cannot stop with the parents. He also reminded us that serving is not always flashy. His son looks forward to the Nerf wars and the food trucks, and also to church cleanup, the behind the scenes work you would only notice if it stopped happening. Learning to serve in the unseen places matters.

Kate had the final word, and it is worth holding onto. As parents, we are ministers. We are doing ministry. And it will take all of us. As a West African and a single parent, she said she is the right person to remind us that it takes a village to raise a child. This church is the village that has helped her raise her girls. Without the leaders and the pastors, her daughters would not be at the level of maturity they have reached. Her encouragement to every parent was simple. Get your children involved in the church, because it takes all of us. They do not belong to us. They belong to God. So bring them into God's house.

Remember and Acknowledge

Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

Psalm 77 gave us a fitting note to end on. The psalmist runs through his doubts and questions and uncertainties, and if we are honest most of us can identify with that as believers. But he comes back to one anchor. I will remember all that You have done.

That is what Level Up Sunday is really about. We remember and acknowledge how the Lord has moved in our next generation, and in faith we let that inspire us toward the future. It is an honor to be part of a church that has always carried a heart for kids, for youth, and for young adults. Our commitment is that we will continue, because it is a responsibility. We heard that clearly from these parents, and we believe the Lord is going to keep moving in young lives.