Picture 170 Adventurer kids enjoying a 45-minute worship talk without getting bored. It was Adventurer Family Fun Day at the Walla Walla (Wash.) City Church, and the kids were not just listening to the speaker for worship time. These kids were copying everything the speaker did, repeating his words and saying things like “no brownies please; I want more peas.”
As the speaker and hundreds of kids were jumping like monkeys, the speaker suddenly disappeared off the edge of the stage. He ran around to the other side of the stage and asked the kids why they stopped copying him. They answered, “We can’t see you!” There was a reason for all the fun and laughter. He was teaching them how to become a disciple, a follower, of Jesus.
The speaker was Daniel Perrin, a teacher at Rogers Elementary School in nearby College Place. He wanted the Adventurers to know that even when they cannot see Jesus, they can still follow him by reading the Bible and through prayer. It was a lesson on discipleship the kids, staff and parents will not forget.
Throughout the day, Adventurers enjoyed playing games, learning songs, creating prayer journals and visiting the nine booths that all focused on one ingredient of being a disciple of Jesus.
“Daniel was amazing,” says Lita Fenton, Adventurers head coordinator. “He connected with the kids and held their attention to the end of worship.” Fenton's team that helps with Adventurer clubs and planning Adventurer Family Fun Day includes Wayne Hicks, Upper Columbia Conference director; Anita Lebold and Everly Batuik, South District coordinators; and Arlita Parr, North District coordinator.
Adventurers can look forward to next year’s theme, “Tell Me the Story of Jesus.” The Adventurer program is designed to support parents in assisting children with the challenging task of developing fully as followers of Christ in today’s world. Children in grades one through four are eligible to join. There are more than 17 clubs in Upper Columbia Conference. For more information, go to uccsda.org/Adventurers.
Daniel Perrin kept 170 kids' attention during Adventurer Family Fun Day.
