Choosing Our Own Adventure
Reflections on Circle Up Saturday

When we started planning Circle Up Saturday, I kept thinking about how to refresh our traditional Mountainside weekend. This year, we decided to try something new. Instead of a two-day retreat, we packed the excitement into one focused day of community building, and the results were beautiful.

The biggest change was shifting from large groups split by high school and middle school to our smaller community groups, divided by age and gender. After starting together at the church, we branched out: the girls headed to a pottery studio, middle school boys hit Urban Air, and high school boys took on Topgolf. Instead of returning to the church building, we spread out to host homes. My house was filled with middle school girls, while others headed to Joe’s or Mimi’s.

This event was more student-led than ever before. The kids helped choose their activities, their meals, and even the topics for our lessons. Seeing the girls choose pottery—a first for us—was a highlight. By giving them a voice, it felt less like an event we hosted “for” them and more like something they were truly part of.

There were logistical hurdles, of course, from coordinating rides to last minute scheduling of activities. But the joy outweighed the effort. My favorite moment was watching the girls at the pottery studio. Whether they were older high schoolers or our quietest middle school twins, everyone was encouraging one another like best friends. We ended the night with card games and a lot of laughter.

With our recent split between middle and high school ministries, Circle Up Saturday proved that our community groups are the heartbeat of our student life. It showed our students that their opinions matter and that their church is a place where they are truly heard.

Amanda Howatae,
Middle School Director