I’m pretty involved in my local church, but if I’m honest, my favorite ministry doesn’t happen on Sabbath. It happens at 10:00 a.m. on Fridays—during toddler group.
About 100 people show up most weeks—most of whom are toddlers. The rest are parents and caregivers doing their best to keep small humans alive until snack time. We roll out toys, inflate the bouncy castle, scatter costumes, set up a reading corner—and then just let chaos, I mean community, unfold.
Then comes song time. Three songs. Four if someone’s had a birthday, and suddenly we’re a full-blown celebration venue. Snacks follow (arguably the main event), more playtime, and then—like a small but undeniable miracle—they all leave.
Here’s the part I love: most people have no idea they’re in a Seventh-day Adventist church. To them, it’s just “Newbold Church.” And that’s intentional.
We’re not leading with Bible studies or doctrine. We’re leading with warmth, welcome, and a dangerously popular bouncy castle. No “God talk.” Just lived-out kindness. Credit to our pastor for the vision: give people a taste of Sabbath before Sabbath.
Are we missing chances to say more? Maybe. But here’s what I see: families who start here enroll their kids in our school. Some eventually come to church. Others don’t. But all of them experience something good.
And when I run into a toddler group parent in town, it feels like ministry.
The kind I actually want to be part of.
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That’s what I’m trying to build here.
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