Marked by the annual release of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, the holidays are officially here…at least for me anyway. This is my favorite time of the year. The best food, dinners, desserts, parties, warm clothes, fireplaces – the list goes on. Sometimes we forget that God created us with a capacity and desire for FUN. This looks different for everyone, but we all need it. I love the Bill Johnson quote: “Jesus Christ is perfect theology”. Jesus modeled this perfectly, as well as the early church.

On several occasions the gospels record Jesus attending dinner celebrations, feasts, gatherings with friends, and the famous wedding—where He turned water into wine. We sometimes glaze over this and miss the point, but Jesus was FUN! He knew how to have a good time. In a world that focuses mostly on performance and output, it is so necessary to laugh and connect with people that we have to prioritize it. Having FUN is an essential skill for leading a healthy life.

Since we work with kids and teens, people assume that’s all we do. However, I work hard to have times of just pure fun. I am so passionate about people encountering God that I can forget about this critical piece—we have a legitimate need to just have fun. I have found when we speak this language of “fun” well, we can open more hearts to the love and power of the gospel message and the transformation in a God encounter.

We just had a big caramel apple decorating party at the end of Kids’ Church this last week, and The Mix is coming up. People ask us all the time, “Are you going to preach a powerful message while all these people are gathered together?” It may come as a surprise to many people, but no, that is not the goal of this event. We will be freely sharing with people about God; praying and prophesying over people as we talk and connect; but the goal of this event is to speak the Godly, Supernatural, Powerful, and Anointed language of FUN.

God doesn’t need us to try to make Him look cool, but He does want us to learn how to meet the needs of those around us. One of those needs is FUN. So I encourage you to go out for a hike, read a book, play a video game, watch a movie, pick up a new activity, learn how to scuba dive, go to coffee with a friend—anything! Go out and have FUN and discover a new facet of God’s presence in the process.