From January 15-18, 2025, roughly 120 participants, including leaders at the local church, conference, and union levels, met at Falls Church, Virginia, for the annual North American Division Children’s Ministries retreat. Themed “Reckless,” the event encouraged attendees to pursue God and ministry goals with bold faith. For busy leaders, “Reckless” offered spiritual renewal, equipping, and fellowship through worship, practical training, and social activities. 

Sherri Uhrig, NAD children’s ministries director, introduced the theme with a story of teaching her then-14-year-old son to drive. Approaching a steep hill, he accelerated instead of shifting gears — gravel flying everywhere. As they came to a screeching halt on the other side, he told a stunned Uhrig, “Mom, sometimes you have to be reckless to get where you want to be.”

The notion of reckless faith pervaded the retreat, with Uhrig and Gerry Lopez, NAD Children’s Ministries associate director, drawing inspiration from the event’s theme song, “Reckless Love,” and accompanying devotional book.

Each day highlighted a sub-theme: reckless love, reckless joy, reckless peace, and the reckless pursuit of God’s love, all rooted in Christ’s immeasurable sacrifice. The event was grounded in Romans 5:8: “But Christ died for us while we were still sinners. In this way God shows His great love for us” (ICB).

Chesapeake Conference Children’s Ministries director Ann Reynolds stated, “Sherri and Gerry have created this event to make us leaders feel valued. We not only take away what we've learned, but the love they show us, that the NAD shows us, is incredible.”

Reckless Leadership

During pre-conference sessions on January 14, attendees explored how personality impacts leadership and team dynamics using the DISC assessment, which categorizes personality traits in four key areas: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance. They also reviewed the SCARF model, which identifies five behavioral motivators: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness. Finally, attendees gained tools for team-building and conflict management. Organizers plan to make these popular pre-event sessions,  held for the first time in 2025, an annual professional development add-on.

The next day, Kevin Wilson, pastor at Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oregon and social media’s “Chaplain of Chai,” kick-started the retreat with a presentation that was equal parts cultural chai-making demonstration and motivational speech, ending with a sweet treat — pre-made chai from Wilson. As he blended spices, tea, and oat milk, Wilson shared his unlikely path to becoming “someone who makes chai and talks about Jesus.” 

Wilson highlighted chai’s social justice implications, noting that just as tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, we are interconnected. He also shared that, like the intricate chai-making process, each step in our journey is purposeful. For instance, having moved from Sri Lanka to various countries at a young age, he easily connects with his diverse online community, including many “who’ll never walk into a local church.” He explained that what we may see as a liability in our story is often an asset, concluding, “For me, home is everywhere, and home is nowhere. So, I can connect with anybody, anywhere.”

On Friday, Seth Yelorda, pastor and leadership coach, gave leaders a roadmap for pursuing a reckless, God-inspired vision, defined as “a picture of the future that gives passion to the present.” He began, “Your ability to lead others with a bold, transformative vision is directly connected to your ability to manage your internal clarity and align it with your identity.” 

One of his first exercises was crafting a personal mission statement. Yelorda then led attendees to reflect on what seemed possible, improbable, and impossible in ministry, emphasizing, “Nothing is impossible with Christ.” He introduced KASH —Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, and Habits — as four tools for overcoming barriers. He espoused the sage perspective that, "Every outcome or circumstance can be turned into a gift or opportunity." Additionally, he promoted networking with and learning from other denominations, schools, or child-focused organizations. 

Other activities included identifying stakeholders’ needs and creating project plans for 90 days, one year, three years, and five to ten years. “This [roadmap] becomes your guiding light; without it, there is chaos,” he cautioned. Yelorda affirmed and challenged the leaders present: “We need individuals with conviction — a conviction that says we will not lose one child in our union; a conviction that says we’re going to create a pipeline from preschool to the gates of heaven. And what we do here is about learning, growing, and equipping ourselves to return to our conference or union with passion and conviction to keep fighting.” 

The training culminated in a Vacation Bible School demonstration Friday morning at Vienna Seventh-day Adventist Church in Virginia. The group learned about the Mountain of Miracles: God’s Love is Rock Solid program, including songs, skits, and an overview. In teams, they engaged in crafts, games, snacks, Bible stories, and team cheers. Each activity connected to that day’s motto, or “power point” — “My God is real, and that is rock solid!” The session concluded with a Q&A with Brad Forbes, president of AdventSource, which sells the VBS kit. 

“It’s a way to celebrate. It’s always fun. You get to experience VBS for yourself,” said Darnisha Thomas, associate pastor of children, youth, and families at Southview Seventh-day Adventist Church and Minnesota Conference Children's Ministries director. 

Building Community

Organizers and attendees expressed gratitude for the strong sense of community that defined the retreat. A key element of community building was corporate worship. On day one, the retreat introduced the Washington Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church praise team, theme song, key text, and prayer wall, with the worship experience culminating in special services on Friday evening and Sabbath.  

Friday evening vespers began with a formal candlelit dinner, meditative music, and an invitation to place one’s burdens on colored tape on a paper cross. Vandeon Griffin, NAD Youth and Young Adult ministries associate director, then delivered a message titled “Not Enough Time,” based on the story of Jairus, the synagogue leader begging Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter in Luke 8. Griffin reimagined Jairus as a powerful children’s ministries leader, saying, “As children’s ministries leaders, directors, and pastors, God sometimes places us in situations where no one can help but Him. That’s where we find Jairus.”

En route to Jairus’s house, Jesus and Jairus faced an interruption — the woman with the issue of blood — and then learned that Jairus’s daughter has died. Similarly, we often face interruptions in ministry, challenges that compel us to rely on Him. Upon hearing the news, Jesus reassured Jairus that his daughter would be made well, and once they reached the house, He immediately resurrected the young girl. 

“He is saying, what seemingly was dead, I can make it alive with the time you have left, not only in this child’s life but [also] in your life as a director. I challenge us to give Jesus an opportunity to speak to the dead thing in our lives,” said Griffin. He then prayed for God to help the leaders “do amazing exploits,” beginning with the children in their spheres of influence. 

Immediately after Griffin’s message, Lopez, Griffin, and Uhrig led a communion service, including foot-washing, followed by an emotional rendition of the song “Reckless Love.” Alexandria Harter, associate pastor for children and family ministries at Spring Meadows Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sanford, Florida, offered a closing prayer, celebrating hope and renewal in Jesus.

As the Sabbath morning speaker, Harter focused on our reckless pursuit of God, turning to John 4, where Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well. She was astonished when He, a Jewish man, asked her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink and even more amazed when He said that if she knew who He was, she would have asked Him for living water. “She was pursuing God but didn’t know it,” said Harter. 

After Jesus revealed that He was the Messiah, the woman left her waterpot and ran into the city to tell others about Him. “She was so full of living water, she left the waterpot recklessly,” said Harter.

Later, when the disciples urged Jesus to eat, He replied, “I have food you know nothing about.” Harter explained, “Pursue Him with abandon because you are the food that fills His heart.” She added, “Your being full will fill others. And the cycle [will continue].” Reflecting on God’s cleansing love, she concluded, “How far will you go to pursue the One who can give you living, bubbling, flowing fountains of water?” 

The evening program featured a devotional by Marilyn Scott, associate pastor for children’s and family ministries for the Bell Branch and Pasadena Church districts. Scott shared, “No matter how far off track we feel, we are never too far gone for God to love us."

She continued, “For those struggling with unworthiness, burnout, and loneliness, hear me — God sees you and loves you just as you are. When He expresses His love, He takes all the risks. This is reckless.” She urged attendees, “Once you’ve experienced that love, let it flow into the world, [to the] families we minister to. Help them see His love.”

Back to Center

As the retreat wound down, Uhrig and Lopez took a moment to thank their planning committee, production team, volunteers, and hotel staff. Then, they invited attendees to the “parting party,” where leaders bonded over s’mores, board games, and Christian music in a relaxed setting. 

Several participants reported leaving the retreat refreshed and recharged. Reynolds remarked, “This event fills me. We all tend to get depleted, and this brings us back to center.” 

Nitza Salazar, Children’s Ministries director at the Idaho Conference, encouraged fellow leaders to attend, saying, “Treat yourself. Just come and meet Jesus alone, without the rush [of] church and home. Come, be quiet, be with God, and be present.” 

Barry Van Iderstein, Northern California Conference children and family ministries director, affirmed, “[This retreat] sets me up for success. I’ve brought in several speakers that Sherri and Gerry have had here, and they've trained our people locally. Here, I get resources. I get books. I get ideas. It’s the perfect beginning to the year, every year.”

For Uhrig and Lopez, empowering these leaders is vital to the church’s mission. Lopez asserted, “Children aren't part of the future. They are part of the now, and we need to really [emphasize] this ministry so our church can have a future.”

Additional Information

The next retreat will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, from January 20-24, 2026, with a pre-conference on January 19. Visit childmin.org for updates. 

Click here to learn more about the “Mountain of Miracles” VBS curriculum and here to order it from AdventSource in English or Spanish. Order before March 31, 2025, and save $20! 

Click here to join the Mountain of Miracles VBS Leaders’ Facebook Group.

View photos from Day 1, Day 2, and Days 3 & 4.