This summer has been incredible as we’ve gathered with 250-330 kids every Sunday for Children’s Church. Our décor is inspired by summer vacation at the beach, but our actual theme is “Those who fully rely on God will thrive.” Our key verse is Isaiah 43:2, which reminds us that God is with us through all circumstances.

For the past two months, we’ve been focusing on our relationship with Christ. This past Sunday, I shared the story of Peter’s adventures fishing. Peter, a fisherman along with several of his fellow disciples, decided to go out and fish one day. Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t catch anything. Then, from the beach, Jesus called out to them, instructing them to cast their net on the other side of the boat.

Miraculously, their net soon filled to overflowing with fish! That was all the evidence Peter needed; he knew the man on the shore was Jesus. Without hesitation, he dove straight into the water to reach Him.

Isn’t it amazing the things we’ll dive after? We’ll beg and plead with our parents to take us to the beach or let us attend the mission’s Friday night movies. But if we’re honest, most of us had trouble getting up this Sunday and getting dressed to go to church. Most people don’t race to church. They don’t come in full of energy and excitement. They look at going to church as a chore, an obligation to be done and gotten over with. That’s a far cry from what we see Peter doing in this passage. Peter’s example reminds us that we need to love Jesus more than anything. (Honestly this is just as true for all of us adults as it is for the kids. Church can often feel like an obligation and not something we are excited to do.)

I explained to the children that even though we do a ton of fun activities and parties together, my primary goal is to encourage them to draw nearer to God. I want them to learn the scriptures, so I offer them points for it. I’m not naive; I know that many of the kids are initially motivated by the desire to win points for the party. But what they don’t realize is that I’m teaching them to memorize scripture and setting up meetings between them and God where they may develop a relationship with Him. They come for the candy, but my prayer is that they find Jesus along the way, just like Peter did.

I’m incredibly thankful for all the donations made for food. We’ve been able to feed the kids every week and even send food home for their families. I have reminded them that just as Isaiah 43:2 says, God is walking with them through these difficult times.

Let’s ALL continue to dive into our faith with the same enthusiasm and love as Peter.