Neither do I pray for these alone, but for all who shall believe me through my words, that they may be one as You and I are One. (John 17: 20,21)

The young people at Shively Christian Church, led at the time by Youth Pastor Dave Stone, were fiercely competitive with their neighbors, Shively Baptist Church, in all things, especially softball. They were also serious about their Christianity, faithfully attending summer Bible camp led by the Youth Pastor.

One week, the Bible lesson was about Jesus washing his disciple’s feet, from John 13. To make the servanthood lesson stick, Pastor Stone divided the kids into groups and told them to go out and find a practical way to be servants.

“I want you to be Jesus in the city for the next two hours,” he said. “If Jesus were here, what would he do? Figure out how to help people.”

One group had done two hours of yard work for an elderly man. Another group bought ice cream treats and delivered them to several widows in the church. A third group visited a church member in the hospital and gave him a card. Another group went to a nursing home and sang Christmas carols—yes, carols in the middle of August. One elderly resident remarked that it was the warmest Christmas she could ever remember.

But when the fifth group stood up and reported what they had done, everyone groaned. This group had made its way to none other than their arch rival, Shively Baptist, where they had asked the pastor if he knew someone who needed help. The pastor sent them to the home of an elderly lady who needed yard work done. There, for two hours, they mowed grass, raked the yard and trimmed the hedges.

When they were getting ready to leave, the woman called the group together and thanked them for their hard work. “I don’t know how I could get along without you,” she told them. “You kids at Shively Baptist are always coming to my rescue.”

“Shively Baptist!” interrupted Pastor Stone. “I sure hope you set her straight and told her you were from Shively Christian Church!”

“No, we didn’t,” the kids responded. “We didn’t think it mattered.”

God of One-ness, may we join together with out fellow believers and forget the boundaries of denominations, sexuality, color or any other thing that might be seen as a difference!