7th Day, the Virginia Synod youth event for 5th and 6th-grades was held over the weekend of March 3-4, at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Convention Center in Lynchburg. Over 180 youth and adults made up Shepard Groups that together joined in the fun and faith-filled weekend learning new songs, making crafts, listening to stories, and playing plenty of exciting games.

The focus for the weekend was set by this year’s planning group youth and adults- Will Burger, Katellyn Jaster, Summer Kite, Tess McAllister, Brayden Stone, event chaplains Pastor Terri Church and Pastor Nate Huffman, and planning group advisor Maria Roberts.

The planning group youth choose to interpret this story as a group of middle schoolers on their way to compete in the state’s spelling bee. When their bus breaks down, they are asked to rely on a stranger’s assistance to help get them back on the road. In the end, the kids decide to give thanks to the kind stranger for his help, by sending him a note of appreciation.

In addition to the planning group skit- activity modules for crafts, interactive story, music, and movement each focused on three parts of the story: Jesus is the one, the one who returns and be the one who gives thanks.

For the interactive story module, led by Valerie Dombrowski, Sarah Dombrowski, and Heather Browning, the Shepherd groups saw Luke 17:11-17 come to life. There they saw reenactments of the story and learned some contextual history, such as how lepers were viewed in Jesus’s time. The group also got to play fun group building activities, like working as a team to create a path across the room and playing a giant version of the board game Operation.

In the crafts module, led by Greg McCorkindale and Diane Bayer, Shepherd Groups creatively interpreted the story, such as crafting their own life preservers since Jesus saves us. They also decorated miniature wooden chests to become prayer boxes for them to give thanks in prayer.

In the movement module, led by Bryan Jaster and Nick Hodges had Shepherd Groups playing silly games like clothespin tag, have snowball fights and move in the gospel. At the end of the weekend, each group received a verse and together planned a presentation of a human sculpture. These verses were read while the sculptures were performed during the Sunday afternoon worship.

In music, led by Pastor Dave Delaney, Tim Wilson, and Jayme Kokkonen, the Shepherd Groups Shepherd Groups were introduced to new songs to sing and their corresponding movements. The songs learned here at 7th Day often become the returning favorites, as many are sung at other Virginia Synod youth events such as Lost and Found and Winter Celebration!

7th Day provided a weekend filled with fun, laughter, and worship as the 5th and 6th-graders present learned and experienced how just one person can make a difference and how to show their thanks to God.