Parents have a lot of choices when it comes to activities for our children. We fill their afternoons and weekends with sports, dance, and competitions. Our children and youth are so busy. It’s like we’re rushing here and rushing there ALL DAY long. We have every minute of our children’s lives scheduled. It’s exhausting! We don’t want to add one more activity.

For the last two weeks, I have spent my days with children at Vacation Bible School and high schoolers preparing and going on the Xperience Tour. If you would like to get a glimpse into my last two weeks, here is the Xperience show Wow! These were amazing weeks that I didn’t want to end! The youth are inspirational as well as talented, and the children bring the joy of Christ with all their energy. But our summer isn’t ending. We’re preparing to take a group to Mexico on Sunday.

These events might seem like just another activity you get to choose for your child or youth in which to participate, and they are. But the activities of the church give your children and youth so much more than just a normal activity. Yes, we teach what it means to be part of a team. Yes, we teach new skills and how to be kind, curious, giving, and loving. But there’s something about activities at church that make them differ from just another activity. Church activities help children and youth grow in their faith. They encourage relationships with peers that have the same values and beliefs. They are Christ-centered activities.

As a parent, I know children cannot do everything that we offer. But if you are a parent that wants your children to grow up with a strong faith and if you are a parent that wants to fulfill the promises you made to God at your child’s baptism, choose one or two or three (but at least one) church activity in which your child can participate.

Vacation Bible School might seem like just another activity, but I heard the kids say that Jesus will rescue them. Jesus will be with them whenever they go through difficult parts of life. They made friends that showed them care and love. They worked with adults that reminded them that they are a beloved child of God.

Even though the Xperience might seem like just another activity, I heard youth singing that God is their rock in times of trouble. I heard youth express their faith through words and actions. I heard every youth on the trip pray out loud. I heard them share the Gospel and tell the story all over western North Carolina and Tennessee.

Youth Group, Sunday school, and worship might just be one more activity, but it is in these communities where Christ is revealed. It is through these relationships that we become Christ’s hands and feet in the world. It is in just another activity where our children and youth meet Jesus.

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