Student ministry, community, and the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals
Excuse me while I feel a little bit nostalgic.
Maybe I’m getting sentimental in my middle age. It could be grief rearing its ugly head. Or maybe it’s all the talk about the Indiana Pacers going to the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years.
I can’t help but think back to that Sunday in the Finals when the Pacers took on the dreaded Kobe Bryant and Shaq.* Although the good guys lost in overtime and I barely remember anything about the actual game, That night^ sparked a core memory deep within the recesses of my soul. It’s one of the first things I remember doing with the high school student ministry at Oaklandon Christian Church on the East Side of Indianapolis.
I had just started as the church’s new Student Minister, in charge of middle school, high school, and college-age ministries at a medium-sized congregation. I think we averaged around 800 people a week. But don’t quote me on that. It has been 25 years, after all. My first official day on staff was April 1, 2000.
So I’d only been Student Minister for two months and some change before the Pacers advanced to the Finals. And know how the saying goes…
In 49 states, it’s just basketball. But this is INDIANA.
Source UnknownΔ
So we decided to have a watch party in the church’s gym (I’m pretty sure we called it a Family Life Center). We put up a giant portable screen, fired up a portable projector, and invited a bunch of teenagers and their parents to gather ’round and cheer on the Blue and Gold. I remember a few guys even pulled a couch or two out of our Sunday school room so they could watch in peak comfort.
A flood of fond memories
That’s really all of the details I remember about that night. But I remember having this realization that I was going to get to work with some pretty amazing people. And we wound up doing a ton of really cool things during my short 2 1/2 years at Oaklandon.
We baptized tons of students. More students than I can even count. And it wasn’t just limited to the baptistery in the church Worship Center. We also had baptisms in Buffalo Creek (yes, the same creek that my friends threw me into my junior year at Milligan) and a large campus fountain at Southern Illinois University during CIY summer conferences.
We hosted bands, including Esther’s Request (sorry, couldn’t find any active links for them) and Alathea.
The fire station down the street was converted into a student ministry center that we called the Fire Escape, based on Jude 23. I didn’t stay on staff for very long after it opened, but the grand opening (with Esther’s Request as the main act) was so exciting. People literally spilled into the streets.
We equipped and empowered our student leaders. The led small groups, planned worship services, and lead those services. One iteration of our worship band had the opportunity to perform during a CIY Summer Conference. We made T-shirts to show our support.
We partnered with a ministry in Gallup, New Mexico, and led a Vacation Bible School for what felt like hundreds of kids on the Navajo Reservation while Pastor Yazzie led a revival.+
I even preached a few times. Enjoyed it more than I ever expected I would.
And that’s just the to of the iceberg. We did some pretty amazing stuff, even though I had no idea what I was doing.
Seriously.
They were ‘my’ kids – and still are
I was only officially in these students’ lives for a few years, but those were some formative years for me. I have always considered them “my” kids. They always will be.
So if you were part of the Oaklandon Student Ministry while I was there, I want you to know that I see you. I pray for you daily. AndI’m incredibly proud of you.
Keep letting mercy lead, leaving drops of grace with every footstep. And thanks for being “my” kids.
endnotes
* And the rest of the Lakers. I guess.
^ Wikipedia says the game started at 9:30 p.m. EDT, which would have been 8:30 p.m. Indiana time because we refused to participate in Daylight Saving Time. Even an 8:30 start is stupid, in my humble opinion.
Δ I don’t know who originally said this, but I’ve heard it about Indiana high school basketball, the Hoosiers, and the Pacers. The Pacers have certainly embraced this saying.
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