When Ryan DeBok put a challenge down on the table for his family to go to one gathering and serve at another, he had an inkling of how his kids might initially respond, but he was optimistic—and determined—they could make it work.

Ryan and his wife Courtney, their four biological children, and the two children they foster showed up each Sunday willing to serve, and each one eventually found their unique “fit.”

Admittedly, Sundays would be much simpler if they just went to one service, but they wanted to be part of it, giving back to the community that had given them so much and not missing out on anything God had for them. The blessing they received was both unexpected and humbling—and today they can’t imagine spending their Sundays (or KidsGiG week!) any other way.

“Mom! When are you going to sign us up to help out with KidsGiG?” Kate interrupted her mom who was working on something at the kitchen table.

“Oh, right. I need to do that. I’ll try to get that done this week.” As a home-schooling mom of four, plus serving as a foster mom to two special needs children, some weeks seemed fuller than others…and this was one of them. She would get around to the sign up, eventually. Of course, she knew it was important, but it wasn’t at the top of her list at the moment.

Courtney turned her attention back to her notebook where she found her list of “To Dos.”

“Sign the kids up for KidsGiG” she began to write, but she couldn’t even get to the last word before Kate popped back into the room.

“Mom, don’t worry about signing us up for KidsGiG.”

“Why? What do you mean?”

“I took care of it,” Kate beamed.

“You took care of it? “

“Yes! I got on my phone and signed us up to volunteer.”

“Oh good! Thanks Kate! That’s one thing off my list! Would you mind signing up your siblings, too?”

“Already done, Mom…” With that, Kate breezed back out of the kitchen. Courtney shook her head with a smile.

“That girl,” she whispered quietly to herself and crossed off the item from her list.

Four weeks later.

“Courtney, did you already wake up the kids?” Ryan said with a yawn as he looked up sleepily from his morning coffee.

“No.”

“It sounds like they are up already.”

“And this surprises you how?”

Ryan slowly rose up from his chair to see what the noise was down the hallway. As he turned the corner, he saw bedroom lights on and heard the shower running. Lincoln (15), Kate (13) and Madi (11) were indeed up and getting ready for the day.

Walking back into the kitchen, Ryan caught Courtney’s smile. “It’s almost worse than Christmas—it’s 6:30! At least on Christmas they wait until 7!” Ryan chuckled.

“You know you love it so don’t even try to pretend you’re complaining!” Courtney laughed.

“Who would have ever imagined?”

With that, Kate burst into the kitchen, humming her favorite KidsGiG song, Making Waves, which had been on constant replay for the last three weeks. Her feet moved to the rhythm of the tune as she reached for the refrigerator door handle.

Lincoln wasn’t far behind her and reached over her shoulder for the milk.

“Hey!” Kate cried.

“Too slow!” Lincoln teased, and then handed her the milk.

It wasn’t long before Madi entered the kitchen too, and suddenly Ryan and Courtney’s peaceful morning had erupted into a full-out flurry of activity.

“This will never get old,” Ryan whispered in Courtney’s ear as he gave her a peck on the cheek. Pouring his second cup of coffee, Ryan offered his help to the kids.

“I’m good, but thanks, Dad,” Lincoln replied as he carried his plate to the table.

“Hurry!” Kate ordered her siblings. “Kylee will be here in 10 minutes and I don’t want to be late for our first morning of KidsGiG!”

“Kate! None of us want to be late!” Madi replied. “I’m ready to go, anyway!”

Kylee Pavelka was the kids’ cousin and she had stepped up to help drive them to and from KidsGiG for the week. This was the first year that schedules made it impossible for either Courtney or Ryan to serve at KidsGiG, and they were especially grateful it worked out for the kids to get a ride with Kylee.

When she arrived, the kids raced out of the house. “I get the front seat!” they heard Lincoln yell before the door closed behind them. Ryan and Courtney watched the car pull out of the driveway, feeling a tinge of sadness that they couldn’t be part of the fun this year.

Courtney reached around Ryan’s waist for a sideways hug. “I’m so proud of these kids.”

“Me too.”

“Did I tell you I couldn’t even get onto the computer to sign the kids up to volunteer before Kate came in and announced she had already taken care of it?”

“Yes!” Ryan laughed. “That’s so Kate! They really do love serving. I’m truly just blown away by their heart for others.”

“And to think we might have missed this if you wouldn’t have suggested we try just three weeks of serving on Sundays! So crazy.”

Courtney was referring to the moment that set it all off a few years earlier. Out of his deep love for Jesus and desire to live life to the fullest, Ryan didn’t want even one of his family members to miss out on anything God had for them. He knew that in order to live life to the full, they needed to find a way serve. After talking with Courtney about his idea, the two of them sat down with all of their kids.

“OK, so, we are going to try something for the next three weeks. It’s only three weeks, so if it doesn’t work, that’s ok, but I think we should give this a try.” Ryan smartly added in an escape clause for the kids because he was pretty sure he would get some initial push back for what he was about to suggest. Deep down, however, he was more than optimistic…and more than optimistic—he was determined! He knew they would be afraid and uncertain, but he didn’t see any possible obstacle they couldn’t overcome.

The children looked at him with curiosity and concern, wondering what wild-hair idea their dad had come up with this time.

“Each Sunday for the next three weeks, we are going to go to the 9:30a gathering like normal, but then at the 11a gathering, we’re going to find a place to serve.”

“What do you mean?” One of the kids piped up.

“Well, we’re going to find a place where they need help on Sunday morning and see what we can do to fill in the gap. So, for example Lincoln, I know they need help during the service with the cameras and graphics and there are some other boys around your age who help there. Maybe that’s something you’d like to try. And girls, maybe you can help out with the smaller kids in the Kids Ministry.”

The room was so quiet if a pin dropped, it would sound like a boulder.

“Kids, I agree with your dad on this one.” Courtney spoke up. “I know we already have other things we do on Sunday afternoons too, so this may feel like a lot at first, but let’s just try it out and see how it goes.”

“OK…” One by one the kids agreed, though not wild about the idea of sacrificing another hour of their Sunday morning.

The three-week serving experiment came and went quickly, and it was time for another conversation. To Ryan and Courtney’s surprise, all of the kids were on board to continue attending the 9:30 gathering and serving at the 11. Lincoln was helping with video; Claire was working in the café; and Kate, Madi, and Iris were all serving in Kid’s Ministry.

Fast forward a few more years, and the family had fully immersed itself in serving—not just on Sundays, but other times too. One of their favorite times to serve was this week—KidsGiG!

June 6, 2022, KidsGiG.

Lincoln, Kate, and Madi walked into the Westside commons area, greeted with brightly colored beachballs and tubes hanging from the ceiling. By the Global Impact wall stood a surfboard photo op in front of a giant wave. Taking it all in, they knew they were in for a great week! The trio made their way to the counter where they printed their name tags and received instructions on where to go.

Lincoln and Kate headed over to the north sanctuary and quickly found their areas. Both would be leading separate groups of fourth graders this year. Locating the group sign, Lincoln grabbed it and hoisted it into the air so the kids could easily find him. “Pod 2.”

One by one, the kids began arriving and Lincoln and the other three leaders, introduced themselves. As he got to know the children, Lincoln easily made the kids feel right at home. Everyone could see it, including his sister, Kate who wasn’t too far away in “Pod 3.”

While Kate chatted with the students in her group, she saw a girl making her way over and knew her face in an instant.

“Annie!” Kate recognized her from last year.

“You’re my leader again?!” Annie grinned from ear to ear.

“Yes! So cool!” Kate was especially excited to talk with Annie because on Resurrection Sunday, she watched Annie get baptized on the big screen, but hadn’t been able to talk with her.

Meanwhile, Madi was running up and down the stairs looking for her room. Finally, someone pointed her in the right direction, and she hustled into the East Venue. She was late. A group of kids had already arrived, but it was okay because the other leaders were already there. Without skipping a beat, Madi apologized for her tardiness, introduced herself and began asking lots of questions, finding out who had a cat or dog, comparing favorite hobbies and learning if anyone had been on a boat before!

Over the next four days, Lincoln, Kate, and Madi poured every ounce of energy they had into their groups, exhausted by the time they reached home.

The second day, when the kids got home, Lincoln and Madi said they were going to lay down for a bit, but Kate really wanted to talk to her mom and asked if she could join her on her errands that afternoon.

“Sure,” Courtney answered.

As they drove from store to store, Kate gave her mom the full download of her day. Telling her about each student in her group, what she learned about them, and what she was learning as well. There was something that was really bothering her though, and Courtney instinctively knew it.

“Kate, it seems like something is bugging you…”

“Well, I guess so…I just can’t tell if the kids are getting anything out of it this year. And, on top of that, none of the girls in my group really want to dance, so that’s bumming me out a little bit, but even more than that, I just want them to have fun and get closer to Jesus and I can’t tell if that’s happening.”

“Well, sweetie, it’s only day two. But how about we pray about that specifically tonight as a family?”

Kate nodded.

That night, Ryan, Courtney, Lincoln, Kate, Madi, their oldest daughter Claire, and their two foster children gathered to pray.

“Dear God, thank you for letting us help with KidsGiG again this year,” Kate began. “Please help the kids get closer to you this week as they learn about how much You love us.”

The following day, the morning started as usual. But when it came to small group time, something special happened in Kate’s group.

“Would anyone like to pray today?” Kate asked the group.

“I will,” one student offered.

“Dear God, thank you that we could learn about salvation this week at KidsGiG. Thank you for Jesus. Amen.” the student prayed.

“Amen.” Kate responded.

It was simple and short, but that little prayer was all Kate needed to hear. It was a direct answer to her prayer the night before. She knew something special was happening in the hearts of these kids—and even if none of them danced with her, the week would be worth it!

The final day of KidsGiG came. The morning excitement was even more than the first three combined as the children rushed around to get ready. It had been such a fun week!

“Hey Kate, do you think you’ll be able to get those girls to dance today?” Lincoln asked his sister in the car as they headed to the church. He knew dancing was one of Kate’s favorite parts of KidGiG but this year her group was just not into it.

“I really hope so!” Kate replied. “It’s seriously so fun! Madi, what about your group? Are they dancing?”

“Yes, a little,” Madi giggled.

As the morning went on, Kate did get to dance with the girls in her group and felt like her cup was running over as she said goodbye to each of her group members. She wasn’t the only one.

Hopping into the car, Madi settled into her seat.

Click. Click. Click.

The seatbelts buckled in near unison. Kylee turned the ignition and the engine began to hum. Lincoln reached for the AC and turned it on full blast.

Madi suddenly broke the silence. “Why does KidsGiG have to end? I can’t believe we have to wait a whole ‘nother year!”

“I know, I wish it was longer than just four days,” Lincoln responded.

“I agree!” Kate piped up. “The girls in my group FINALLY danced today, and I know the loved it! If we had even one more day, I bet they could learn all the moves!”

“Oh Kate!” Madi laughed. Then, after a short pause, “I’m really tired, but I wish we could go to KidsGiG every day. I’m going to miss my little group. They were so sweet.”

“I know, I had a lot of fun playing with the kids in my group too. The games were so fun, but you know,” Lincoln stopped to consider what he was about to say next. “I was thinking…the cool thing is that we might not ever see some of these kids again, but I know they are one step closer to Jesus.”

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