Page 16 of A Surefire Love
Four days later, it still bothered him as he vacuumed up popcorn the high schoolers left in their wake after Sunday school. Blaze and Nolan would arrive at any moment for the last-minute leaders’ meeting he’d called. While he cleaned, he gave himself a mini-sermon on discretion.
Thank God Blaze had called him by his last name in the park the other day. That reminded him of Sydney, who sometimes called him Mr. Marsh. With Sydney, he could be real. They could discuss church problems. She’d keep it confidential and talk him down when necessary—as she’d done on Wednesday night—without losing her respect for Many Oaks Bible Church.
She’d helped him decide not to confront the board. Instead, he would put in the extra time and effort to meet their goal without sacrificing lesson time. To do that, he’d need help from his leaders. Hence today’s meeting, wherehe’d try to describe the goal without poisoning their respect for the board.
He scanned the room, looking for more popcorn kernels. Cabinets and a countertop ran along the rear wall. Then came a table and metal chairs they rarely used. Anson would replace the workspace with more comfortable seats, but they rarely filled the front half of the room, where a lectern faced two rows of six chairs. A semi-circle of thrifted couches, the most popular seating option, surrounded those.
Blaze appeared in the doorway, angled to talk to someone behind her. She wore a navy-blue dress laced with a dainty floral print. With buttons down the front and puffed sleeves, the feminine style contrasted with her usual choices. For shows, she wore lots of black tops and jeans like what the high schoolers wore. Most Sundays, she opted for sleek professionalism.
Then again, what did he know? Maybe the dress was trendy. It certainly flattered her figure.
His throat tightened. Those were dangerous rails for a train of thought. He turned his back to her and unplugged the vacuum.
“With what?” Her smooth voice asked.
“Worship,” Nolan said as he walked in behind her. “I do my best, but we could really use your voice. And if you play guitar or piano ….”
“I’m always happy to sing, but I never learned an instrument.”
“Good enough.” He plopped onto one of the couches. “You sound a thousand times better than anything I croak out.”
Anson wound up the vacuum cord and wheeled it across the hall to the janitorial closet. The space held more than itsfair share of supplies, ranging from the standard cleaning products to stray décor. But a sleeping bag? That didn’t belong tucked on a shelf. He made a mental note to take it to lost and found, then circled back to the youth room.
His notes waited for him on top of a cardboard box he’d left on a chair in the front row. “Nolan, you heard we added to the team?” He motioned to Blaze.
“It’s about time. Now we won’t have to grab a Saplings teacher when Carianne disappears into the restroom for half an hour.”
Blaze quirked an eyebrow. “Restrooms are a big issue with these kids.”
Nolan lifted his hands. “The women’s restroom must be a lot nicer than the men’s, that’s all I’m saying. You ladies have a spa in there?”
Amusement sparkled in Blaze’s eyes. “Not last I checked.”
“Then I don’t know why the girls are always hanging out in there.”
Because they’d rather not be at youth group, apparently. Maybe therewasa problem, and Anson had missed the signs.
“We’ll do our best to make sure it’s more interesting to stay with the group this year.” He inhaled deeply, steeling himself. “We have a goal of doubling attendance before the end of the semester.”
Nolan whistled. Blaze’s mouth skewed with doubt or concern.
Anson pushed ahead. “As I prayed about this, I realized most of our students have been attending for years. That’s made it possible to focus on more nuanced or advanced lessons, but this year, I want to revisit the basics so the kidscan concisely explain what they believe and why. They’ll need that as they become adults, and in the meantime, they can better engage with friends who need hope. Plus, the lessons will be more accessible when they invite friends without a church background. That’s important, because I don’t want to grow by poaching students from another youth group. I want to disciple the kids we have and share the Good News with kids who aren’t getting it anywhere else.”
“Preach.” Nolan clapped.
Blaze’s expression straightened into a smile.
The approval bolstered him, probably more than it should. “I also want to make it as easy and fun as possible to invite friends to youth group, so I’m working on using social media more effectively. In the meantime, I sent all the middle and high school students home today with an invitation with a QR code that’ll take them to an info page on our website.”
“High tech,” Nolan quipped.
Not really, but updating the website and generating the code was as high-tech as Anson got. They’d need other improvements to attract more students.
He opened the box and lifted out a hooded sweatshirt. The wordRootedran down one arm. The other saidIn Christ. “A couple of years ago, when I orderedfifteenof these, the woman on the phone thought I saidfifty. We didn’t catch the mistake until they were printed. I have plenty left to give them as a reward to anyone who brings a friend to Rooted or one of our events.” He dropped the zippered hoodie back into the box with the others. “And I heard Blaze agree to sing. Thank you for that.” He nodded at her. “What else can we do to make this year our best yet?”
“Snacks?” she asked. “Do you normally have those?”
Carter’s speech about food echoed in his mind, and he cringed. “When one of us remembers to pick something up.”
