Wyldlife

     Wyldlife is our ministry for kids in junior high, and it’s an absolutely incredible ministry in Northwest Arkansas. As a Wyldlife leader, I get the privilege of reaching out to junior high kids and showing them how fun and beautiful life can be in community.

     We want to enter into our junior high friends’ world, so we spend a lot of our time with them at their lunches at school. There’s several tables of kids we talk to regularly and have started hanging out with outside of school. A few of us took advantage of the fall weather and hit up the pumpkin patch recently! It’s been so fun to have these new friends become a part of my life.

     Last Friday, we had our first club of the semester! It was America themed. Red, white, and blue were the colors of choice, and there was lots of America trivia! Did you know that the number one choking substance of Americans is toothpicks? Yeah, me neither. And did you know that America has never lost a war when donkeys were used? Me neither. Oh, by the way, did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell? It cracks me up! We had such a great time joking around and hanging out with these kids. We finger jousted, pied people in the face, and danced and sang to Taylor Swift. Christine, one of leaders, spoke and gave the kids a glimpse of what Wyldlife is. She shared an adventure from her own life, and then shared the story of Jesus calling his disciples to adventure. Jesus isn’t a fun-sucking man who wants to steal our fun. He wants us to experience life as He designed it to be: adventurous, loving, exciting, joyful, filled with laughter... It’s what Jesus is talking about in John 10:10. It's life to the full. And that’s what Wyldlife is all about.

     Personally for me this semester, Wyldlife has been an incredibly challenging and beautiful experience. It’s really intimidating to walk into a cafeteria full of junior high kids, go up to a table, and introduce myself. But God is always faithful. He is teaching me to rely not on my own strength, but to be in deeper relationship with Him so that He can love them through me. I am learning to trust His perfect plan for each of the kids I meet, and I am so thankful that I get to be a part of their lives.

Rachel Evans

Wyldlife Leader