About 180 junior high students and sponsors from Mennonite churches across Kansas and as far away as Milford, Neb., descended on the Hesston College campus Jan. 29 and 30 for the biennial Know Jesus event.
The event, organized by the Western District Conference of Mennonite Church USA and hosted by Hesston College, is a weekend-long retreat for junior high students to worship together and learn more about their Anabaptist roots.
“Know Jesus encourages junior high students to grow in their walk with Christ,” said Hallie Cable, an organizer for the weekend and a junior high youth sponsor from Kingman (Kan.) Mennonite Church. “It is important for the youth to explore their personal faith, and learn about the struggles of the early Anabaptists.”
The speaker for the weekend was Joel Schroeder, Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at First Mennonite Church in Newton, Kan., whose theme, “Seriously Ridiculous!” was taken from Colossians 3:1-4.
Schroeder’s message encouraged the youth to take a step of faith in times when it is easier to cling to the familiar and comfortable, and allow God to work in their lives.
“We have a seriously ridiculous God with a seriously ridiculous love for us that we can plug into, and he will do some seriously ridiculous things in our lives,” said Schroeder.
A highlight of the weekend included the Anabaptist Game, which gave students a glimpse of the persecution that early Anabaptists suffered for their faith. The youth searched for eight “safe houses” on campus where they heard the stories of famous Anabaptists like Pilgrim Marpeck, Michael Sattler, Dirk Willems and Conrad Grebel. As the youth traveled between safe houses they tried to evade the persecutors, who took them to “the dungeon” when captured.
About 100 Hesston College students, faculty and staff members were involved in game operations, playing the parts of tauferyagers, or Anabaptist chasers, and portraying the early Anabaptist and state church leaders.
A group of youth from Eden Mennonite Church in Moundridge, Kan., said they were not familiar with the stories of their early Anabaptist ancestors, and enjoyed discovering the foundations of their Anabaptist faith.
Tracey Funk, an eighth grader from Southern Hills Mennonite Church in Topeka, Kan., also enjoyed learning the Anabaptist stories.
“Until this weekend, I didn’t know that Menno Simons was a Catholic priest,” said Funk.
Hesston College students Simon Foote of Doylestown, Ohio, Josiah Hershberger of Richmond, Va., Laura Unruh of Goessel, Kan., Anna Yoder of Garden City, Mo., and Tyler Yoder of Bay Port, Mich., led music for the weekend.
Located 30 miles north of Wichita, Hesston College is the two-year liberal arts college of Mennonite Church USA.