This spring, Washington's Kirkland Seventh-day Adventist Elementary School (KSDA) launched a special, interactive project as a way to reach out to constituent area churches with a student-led church service. Themed "Friends of Jesus,” the student-led program visited the Bellevue, Kirkland and Russian Adventist churches.
The service featured three groups: spoken word, drama and music. Each presenter was mentored by KSDA teachers and had a consistent team of participating students from grades kindergarten through eighth, allowing the groups to grow together and build their particular team’s content. Seventh-grader Aman Ali, a member of the the spoken-word group, says, “My favorite part [of this project] was being able to collaborate with people to arrange a great program.”
This collective growth took place on campus during weekly planning and practice sessions. During these meetings, teams had a chance to perfect their upfront deliveries for ministry, and most importantly, it was spent growing closer to each other and to Jesus. The dynamic nature of a program like this serves as a unique, invaluable opportunity to learn that worshipping God is meant to be real — personable, actionable and a blessing when shared.
This project became KSDA’s community time both at school and when visiting constituent churches, strengthening on campus life through service to others. At times it can seem difficult to create modes where younger elementary students can serve, but “Friends of Jesus” made service come to life.
Drama group member and seventh-grader Karolina Shushkevich says, “I was proud of what we did and people were interested in watching us.” Seeing these young people so actively engaged in their community and local churches has been a true, long-lasting blessing for all involved in this fantastic program.
KSDA students share music during the “Friends of Jesus” service.
Music instructor Craig Mohr helps organize the music team on stage.
Third-grader Joshua shares a talk during the service.
