About 40 teens from Evangel Church in Kelowna staged a full weekend of events for the families of Nakusp. On Friday night, they put on a concert called simply “The Show” at Arrow Lakes Theatre and held a “Family Fun Day” on Saturday at the arena. The theatre hosted the group free of charge.
“It’s good fun for the kids,” remarked co-owner and operator Shelley White. The evening opened with games such as an Oreo-eating contest and a Q-Tip fight.
A solo act followed with some mellow music on acoustic guitar. However, the energy (and the volume) increased as two of the group’s rock bands performed to an enthusiastic crowd.
Following the concert, many of the teens made their way to Saddleback Community Church for a coffee shop and hang out time. Saddleback is a co-sponsor and host for the weekend’s activities, and belongs to the same parent organization as the Kelowna church (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada). Arrow Lakes Alliance Church Youth Pastor Dave Pedersen and his band played, followed by karaoke.
On Saturday, the Nakusp Arena auditorium was filled with inflatable games for Family Fun Day. The festivities included a bouncy castle, jousting arena, and Velcro wall. Free hot dogs and cotton candy were also provided. Meanwhile, both live and recorded music filled the room as dozens of families took part in the fun.
“We don’t have many events like this here, so it’s really cool that [the Kelowna teens] did this,” remarked Stef Scambler. Another parent of local teens sees possibilities for building on this year’s success: “We should involve other community youth organizations next year to make this event even better.”
What did the Kelowna teens think of the weekend? “It’s a lot of work, but it’s totally worth it,” said a young man supervising the bouncy castle.
Why has this youth group continued to visit our community?
“These are our really core, committed students,” explained Evangel youth pastor Matt Jaggers. They call this their “Deeper” trip, where the students serve others and also deepen their spiritual commitment.
On Saturday night, the group held a “Youth Night” at the arena, where they had more games and played Christian rock music. They also heard a message about changing culture for the better by speaking encouraging words rather than hurtful ones, especially on social media such as Facebook.
Finally, on Sunday morning, Saddleback Church held their service in the arena auditorium, because their building is too small to accommodate the Kelowna youth, Nakusp youth, and the regular church attendees at the same time.
This is the third consecutive year that Jaggers has brought his group to Nakusp. Last year he brought about 65 students for a similar weekend of events. Several years ago, prior to his work in Kelowna, he brought his youth group from Grand Forks to our community as well.