Israel & Rachel Campbell "SOUP" Podcast
Welcome to Season 3 of the Campbell Soup Podcast with Israel and Rachel Campbell. We are celebrating over 10,800 downloads and counting, thanks to listeners like you. We started this podcast with a simple idea: discipleship should be more than a classroom, it should be a way of life. When Jesus walked with His disciples, the lessons did not happen behind a podium but along the road, around meals, and through conversations about real life. That is exactly what we do here.
Each episode is like sitting down to a hearty bowl of soup, warm, nourishing, and full of flavor. We talk about life, love, parenting, relationships, faith, and whatever else bubbles up along the way. Some moments will make you laugh, others might make you think, but every conversation is stirred with honesty, hope, and a little humor. So pull up a chair, grab your spoon, and join us for another season of real talk, real life, and real discipleship, one spoonful at a time.
Israel & Rachel Campbell "SOUP" Podcast
"Should you force your kids to go to Church?" CAMPBELL SOUP PODCAST- ISRAEL & RACHEL CAMPBELL
“Should you force your kids to go to church?” We take that hot-button question head-on and trade force for formation. Drawing on Proverbs 22:6 and years of parenting and pastoring, we unpack how consistent, low-pressure rhythms help kids meet God for themselves—without turning Sundays into a performance. Phoebe shares candid stories of church at its best and worst, how her parents handled hurt without denial, and the simple “find three good things” practice that transformed knee-jerk cancellation into healthy discernment.
From the youth pastor seat, you’ll hear why the most resistant students often become the most powerful testimonies. We get practical about making church a family value: protecting Saturday nights so Sunday isn’t a fight, choosing leagues and schedules that don’t push worship to the margins, and keeping the home conversation honest. No glossing over cringe moments, no pretending leaders are flawless—just real accountability paired with a stubborn love for the local church. Because when kids learn to process pain, honor what’s good, and contribute to change, they grow into builders, not critics.
If your teen is anxious, skeptical, or introverted, there’s space for that too. The aim isn’t instant belief—it’s proximity to people and practices that make room for the Holy Spirit. We talk about mentors who model conviction without shame, community that sticks through rough seasons, and the steady presence that anchors identity for the long haul. Whether you’re starting fresh with a newborn or trying to reset with a teenager, you’ll leave with language, rhythms, and hope to make God’s house a life-giving non-negotiable.
If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s navigating faith and family, and leave a review to help more parents and teens find their footing.
Campbell Soup Podcast is back, and we have a very special guest today. It is Phoebe Campbell.
SPEAKER_01:Hello, hello.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, so it's still Campbell Soup because it is Israel and Phoebe Campbell. And this is a very special episode because we're going to talk about stuff that is kind of family-oriented. And you can still do this podcast, Phoebe, because your last name is still Campbell. It is. But if you get married, don't think you can come on the Soup podcast. It'll just be Soup. It won't be Campbell Soup Podcast. And so this is very cool. Rachel's actually this week speaking in San Antonio. And so we still needed to do podcasts. And Phoebe, you were pretty much recruited against your will, but you are here and it's going to be really good. We're going into today the subject or the title you've already seen on the screen, those of you that are listening, whether you're walking, jogging, or folding laundry, this week, our title is Should You Force Your Kids to Go to Church? And so we have been actually, Phoebe, before going back and forth doing all of these, like, hey, I would like to talk about this and I'd like to talk about this. So we've kind of been going back and forth, your thoughts, my thoughts. And so I think we're just going to kind of banter like your mom and I. And the problem with Phoebe and I doing this is we tell the same jokes at the same time. And so that could be different. Rachel's jokes are a little different than mine. And so we can kind of go back and forth. But Phoebe and I actually have almost the exact same sense of humor, which is incredible, by the way. But so this will be kind of new, kind of doing this, but I think it will be natural. But this is the verse that I wanted to read to just kind of say, I know you've got some verses in your notes that we can do, but Proverbs chapter 22, verse 6 says this train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old, he will not depart from it. And I just love that because it really sets a precedence on what you put in early years can often dictate later results. And so I think there's kind of some tension, Phoebe, in that I think I was raised that you just take your kids to church. You were obviously raised, you take your kids to church. But there are people out there that say things like this. I just don't want to force religion, Christianity on my kids because I don't want them to backslide later or hate the church or whatever. And I guess this podcast is to maybe push back gently through the word, through experience. Because the Bible says actually the opposite. It's actually like train them when they're young so that then when they're older and they're adults, they can make the right choice. And so my pushback has always been when somebody says that I don't want to do that from, you know, I don't want to force my kids. My pushback is always, yeah, but you make your kids brush your teeth.
SPEAKER_01:Hopefully.
SPEAKER_00:Hopefully. You make you make your kids clean the room. You know what I mean? Like deodorant. Yeah, deodorant. So there's nothing like we see these things are those are we, those are necessities. And I think their spiritual life is obviously even more important. But so maybe from your perspective, what do you think about that pushback? And am I accurate, or can you kind of understand it?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I love it. I think hot take is I think you should absolutely make your kids go to church. And people might be listening and go, after hearing what I have to say, go, oh, I don't know about that. But it's okay. I'm I, for one, am so grateful that you guys always brought us to church. And what was crazy is it never felt like you made us go to church. I don't think I would ever have said, oh yeah, my parents have always made me go to church. I actually didn't know it was an option. So when I heard this question, I was like, wait, I had a choice. Like this was optional. Yeah, it was not for our family. I had no awareness that it could be optional, which was amazing, I think, for so many different reasons. And I think too, when you talk about forcing, when you talk about forcing your kids is a funny term to say, you can't force anyone to have a relationship with God, right? But you can, you know, make happen certain environments for them to experience that. And I just think the way that you and mom made it as like a Campbell principle that Sundays we were in God's house and we did it together and it was consistent and never felt like pressure or a punishment if we weren't doing good. It was something that we didn't even know was an option and that we always knew was good for us, like wearing deodorant and brushing our teeth.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Well, no, I think that that's so good is like you said, we didn't even know it was an option. And I think that if you're a parent right now, I think that that's a really good thing, is number one, like what is your family values? Like, you know, so we would just always say things like this is what the Campbells do. And so, hey, maybe somebody else does that, but that's not what the Campbells do. And the Campbells are church builders. We we go to church, we we we do that. And and so I think that I love that it wasn't an option. You're like, I didn't even know. But I do think that if there was a moment where you would have said, hey, I'm done, I just as a parent would have said, just like brushing your teeth, just like wearing deodorant, it's not an option. We go to church. And maybe this was longer in our list of the outline, but like we go to church and you said something so powerful. You said the church has been some of the best times in your life, but it's also been some of the most hurtful times in your life because church people can hurt you, but we still never said, well, now you cannot go to church. We've still said no, no matter what we do that. So maybe unpack that like, wow, I'm saying you're there's no option. And then you're saying, oh yeah, it's been really good, but it's also been very hard.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think for a lot of reasons, going, I'll jump back over to the the church hurt part, but I think about just seasons of my life where I wasn't doing good, church wasn't optional. And so when I was at my lowest of lowest points and maybe didn't feel like going, didn't feel like showing up, because church was so consistent and wasn't an option. I was there every single season, whether I was in a bad mood, whether I was going through it. I mean, whether our family, you know, something was going on. If I was fighting with Chloe on the way there, we were still going to church. And what was crazy is afterwards we usually got along better because, you know, you hear a message and we're pinching each other, or one of you were pinching us, like that's for you. Well the what? Peacemakers. I know that. It's like tattooed in my brain. But but yeah, I just think about the the church. It's all I've ever known. I've always been raised in it. And it really has been some of my best moments and some of my worst moments, some of the moments of healing, some of the moments of breakthrough, and then some of the moments of wow, you do we serve the same Jesus? Like what is going on? Um, moments of disappointment, moments of having leaders do things that you're like, what? Like you should know better. Expect this somewhere else, but this is God's house, and you might have left me to the Lord or whatever. There's been a lot of seasons where highs and lows, and I think that's an important thing to talk about. One thing that I thought was so amazing is that you guys really let us talk through some of that. You didn't act like that wasn't okay, uh, or that that everything was fine and that we just need to forget about it and forgive. You guys actually taught us what forgiveness looks like and how to process some of those things and also just be really honest and real. And I think that was important.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, because I like that. Cause I think that what can happen if you're a parent listening. And I these are really good things to I think get when you haven't even had kids. It's a little bit tougher that you've had kids and then now maybe you're just now coming to church and they're teenagers. How do I do that? So each phase is different, but I think going into it, having this is like that's what we do will really impact it. But I do like what you were saying, is it's not, I think one of the best things that we can train our kids with is not just that you go to church because it's perfect and it's good, but you go to church because it's messed up. You go to church because we're part of the solution. We go to church because it's what Jesus is coming back for. And it's the only eternal thing on this earth. There will be no Walmart in heaven, aren't you glad? There will be, you know, that there will be a lot of things that we think are really good here that won't be there, but something that's eternal is his church. And so I think what, you know, kind of going back on that, maybe some insight is is it's not like if you're trying to keep your kids from getting hurt because you're like, man, church is messy, church can be difficult. I don't want them to see the bad side of it. No, I think you're actually doing them a disservice because I think it's actually really healthy to go, hey, there's still, it says the Bible says there's still spots and wrinkles. There's still some spots and wrinkles, but we love it. And learning to train your kids' spirit to get past that. Yeah. And so I'll never forget a story. We were at a conference and a person spoke, I won't name the name, and you were furious afterwards. And like you just, you know, and they whatever the person said was probably not good to say. I think they might have had a swear word, they might have been said something that was inappropriate, and it was like you were done. And that's part of your personality. There is no 50 shades of gray with Phoebe, but you were just like, I don't, like, I hate this guy. And I, and then you were like mad at the pastors because they had him. And then because we knew the pastors, you were mad at us, and it was like, and then we knew the person, and you were like, I can't believe you know him, you know? And it was like, okay, okay, no, all of what you said was so good. You discerned it correctly, but I think we sort of like, but all of us have that, all of us have failures, and don't be a person that just immediately cancels, immediately forget, you know, just writes off somebody. But what can you find? And I remember trying to teach you what were three good things, and you struggled to find those three good things. He's uh he's alive. No, but by the end, now you actually call it this person's name. Well, I this person named it, and I found like, and so you've done that now at conferences, you've done that with speakers, you've done that with even people in the church, is like, gosh, we've all aren't perfect. And I can't just throw a person out because they don't do that. What are some of the good qualities? And I think, I mean, you see this so much in this generation, your generation, but they're canceling some people that to me were generals in the faith. War, and and I'm not saying everything they've done is right. I'm not saying they're perfect, but I'm I'm trying to get the view of, yeah, but they did this and we wouldn't have that if it wasn't that. And they've done this, and you know, all that. I'll just give a person. A lot of people don't like Joel Osteen. And and I just think that, like, yeah, maybe there's some things that you'd be like, that is theology-wise, can be a little watered down, or this could be that. But you gotta look at the positive things too. And that doesn't mean that we're wishy-washy in our theology. It doesn't mean that we somehow lose what we're passionate about, but like be able to, I love the story of Whitfield and Wesley. They were arguing theology. One would, one service would preach one and the X would preach the other. But then they said, Will you even see them in heaven? And they said, No, we won't see them in heaven because they'll be so close to the Father, we won't see them. It's like we're losing that. And so I think going back all the way around, going back to is teaching you there are problems in the church. Yeah, but we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. We love the church. What are the positives when there is a negative? And then maybe I think we've talked about sometimes the negatives that you saw were actually things you were called to fix.
SPEAKER_01:100%.
SPEAKER_00:100%.
SPEAKER_01:100%.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I love that. And I think too, one thing that I really loved, and I think what made me be able to receive that as I was younger and hold on to that. Like I think about that moment and that story multiple times with the way I'm wired. If I, you know, I can be kind of extreme. Like I can be pretty black and white on things and still have to learn to continue to see both sides and be see the positives in people. And so I always, I mean, finding those three things, I don't remember what they were. Like I might need to go back and get those three things again, but you did not let us stop talking about that until I was able to find three actually positive things about that person. And what's crazy is I remember seeing that person a few weeks later or months later, years later at another conference and really getting ministered while they're speaking. And I was able to receive only because I think because I was able also to see the positives. And what I really also loved about that moment is you guys didn't ignore it. You guys didn't say, oh, Phoebe, you're seeing that wrong, or you're being dramatic, or what you get over it. Yeah, get over it and what you're feeling in your spirit, you're not reading that right. Not once. You never made me feel guilty about even, you know, having some of those emotions. And you were really pro-accountability. If somebody was doing something that was not right, you didn't sweep it, you know, under the rug, like any of that. You were very much wise in how you handled that, but also to look at the full, full picture and bring out the good. And I think that was so, so important and something I really needed.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I love the fact that then what later you get ministered to because of that. And I think that that's what can happen. And I think it's really good to be able to do that because this is what can happen is you can ignore it, and then your kids are smart enough to go, no, that's weird. You know what I mean? And so you just try to shove, no, we don't, we don't talk bad about the man of God. We don't talk bad about the woman of God. No, but I think it's good to be able to dissect it and try to, you know, reverse engineer or find out, and or just go taste bud, yeah, it's not my favorite taste bud either. It's not my favorite style, or yeah, I was a little cringy when they did that. Yeah, and it stinks that they did that. I remember hearing something about somebody, ne one of your friends, and and the experience that they had with a pastor and an armor bearer, and it was just like cringe, but it didn't make that person bad or evil. It's just that's just cringy. And being able to talk about it, but also talk about it in a healthy way because you can, I think you can ignore it and just pretend like, oh no, no, no, everything the man of God does. And then I think that breeds where you're when you are an adult, you're like, forget it. See, you wouldn't want to be you because you had church hurt and you're just like, I've sawn the hypocrisy. But I also think that it's good to train to go, yeah, I don't really like that about Pastor Israel and Rachel either. That that's taste bud. It's not my favorite, but overall, the whole community and overall this, you know what I mean? Because I'm gonna have some bad jokes and I'm gonna be sarcastic. And you know what I mean? There are gonna be some leadership things that I'm not great at. But if you can train your kids to to say, hey, that's good discernment, or you're you're getting that, and then what are the three things you'll train your kids, your children, to actually be church builders instead of church critiquers. And and I think there's a lot of just critiquers out there. But the problem is they'll critique everything, there's never anything good enough. And the the reality is while there are humans on earth, the church is going to be messed up. And so, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I love what you said about, I remember you encouraging me, Phoebe. I think you're called to be part of the answer to some of that. And I I've just seen that a little bit like kind of unfold in my own life of there were things that I were really angry about. I was like, how is nobody else seeing this? And it's because God put this conviction, like almost allowed me to see this, allowed me to, you know, get stirred up about this because he had called me to be an answer in some of that. And so I think some of the times when I think about the times I've been hurt the most in church, whether it was a leader or whatever it was, I've learned so much from that of, okay, God, you have really allowed me to walk through this because I will never treat somebody like this. Or I'm gonna be really careful of what I say in front of who and how I handle certain situations because I've been on the receiving end of that. And I do think God allows us, you know, to see some of that and then also calls us to specific things within the body of Christ because it's gonna be getting better and better. That's the hope, right? Healthier and healthier. And I think God does allow us and creates a passion in us if we choose to see it correctly, to kind of help bring some of those things.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and you just brought up something that I think is would be a good gut check for everybody to kind of get is the church is getting better. And do we still have a lot of issues? Oh, yeah. Is there still problems? Of course. But I mean, if you could go like early church still had issues, yeah. And then if you look at the church in like the thousands, I mean, the Catholic Church was bad news. I mean, evil times evil. And so there's these years that the popes were not even Christians, and I say that reverently, but like the way they lived their life was not, and the nobody had Bibles, you know. So we really live in an era of where there's accountability. There is some bad things, but man, there's never been more accountability. There's things that now people are going to jail for that before the church just swept under the rug. And so I do really think that the church does get better, and so that's the truth is if you just cancel it or you deconstruct it, but then you don't build it, I do I think that that's really, really bad. So I want to go back to a little bit of the we made you. You're now a youth pastor, and your youth, you're doing maybe, maybe put give it to us from that perspective because that's a unique thing. You have received it as a kid, or it wasn't an option. Now you're a youth pastor and you're probably pastoring some kids that are kind of told it's an option. What would you say to that parent to like maybe obviously there's no shame. Yeah, obviously, there's no rebuking, but like, what would you say to that parent that would be like maybe to encourage them to go, yeah, but that even if they fight back, this is why it is needed. And maybe not. Maybe you're like, I don't want a kid there that's got his hands folded and doesn't want to be there. So and maybe you've had that. So unpack that a little bit.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'll start with the the end of that first is we've definitely had students, and it's the it's actually my favorite. My favorite student and my favorite story is someone who was forced to be there at you, and they're gonna let you know that they were forced. And maybe we don't have that good of humor or jokes, but it's like I will tell a joke, and it is like the scout, like the the look I get is is amazing, like indescribable. Yeah, it's terrible. It's really, it's really awesome and humbling. But my my favorite thing so far to see is a student that has come in who is like does does not want to be there, wants to be anywhere else in the world, and over time, week after week, see them soften and see them laugh. I remember seeing a student laugh for the first time, and I was like, Jesus is coming back, like this, this is the sign because they were just so shut off and just wanted nothing to do. And just week after week, just would begin to get a little bit more comfortable, a little bit lighter. And it's been one of the most beautiful things to see, and it just isn't amazing. But yeah, I would definitely agree with you of the shame off if your family has not made that a priority. I don't want anything that I'm gonna say to come across as a rebuke or shame. It's an encouragement just of what's worked well with our family and for my own life. I think one of the biggest things was there was no pressure, which is hilarious because you're a pastor. And so, you know, like I don't know. I have friends that were pastors' kids in there or just church kids. Their family really put a lot of pressure to be perfect on Sundays, and we go to church and maybe the rest of the week at home doesn't look like that. For us, that wasn't the case. It was Sunday, the Campbells were the Campbells and we were allowed to be the Campbells. We didn't not have to pretend, we did not have to do it, anything like that. There wasn't pressure attached. Again, we came in every single season of crazy and we were there and we were consistent. And I remember being a kid, and if there was gonna be something that would mean we couldn't be there on a Sunday, then we weren't doing it. And I never felt like we were missing out because I remember soccer was a big thing. And so a lot of the games in North Carolina would be on Sunday mornings. And so instead of not allowing us to play soccer, you found another league and you actually you coached it and were involved. And so it never felt like I was missing out. I mean, I could have maybe been, you know, if it we did basketball, it could have been the next LeBron James or something, and we'll never know. I knew that's it. Um maybe it was his fault for making us be there on Sundays. No, I'm just kidding. But it was always a priority, it was a non-negotiable, and it also wasn't ever in a position to make me feel like I was missing out on anything else. And I think that was really, really important. You guys found solutions and ways to keep us connected without making it legalistic and more of a priority. And I think that really helped me not have a resentment towards church. And I just remember growing up and, you know, when I was younger, really, really learning a lot about God. And then as I was in middle and high school, I didn't just know a lot about God. I started knowing God for myself. And that's something you can never force, something you can never make happen for your young person. But it's the most beautiful thing that happens. And I think that happens in God's house. When you make it personal, when they find their own relationship, that's gonna carry them through adulthood way more than anything else, than just, you know, knowing a lot about it. So I don't know if that answers that question.
SPEAKER_00:No, I think it's good. And it made me think of something. This is how your mom and ice goes, it makes you think of something is, you know, I think as a parent, your job is just to get them at the house, in God's house. Just get them there, then let the Holy Spirit and God do the rest. And so, you know, I like what you said is that there's not this, okay, now because everybody's here, you have to worship and you have to lift up your hand and you have to, you know, say only Christian words while you're here. So there was not this, like Sunday and Monday are the same. So there's no this expectation of Sunday. Wrap it all up and try to pretend like we have it together and just take that off of you. Just get to God's house, even as a family. Like you don't have to get here and and let us think that you have it all together. Come in here is a hot mess, and we'll be like, welcome to the club. And so I think that that's important. And I also just think it's important to just, you know, just let God do your responsibility, is just to get that, get them there and then let God do the rest, kind of like what you were saying. The person came in hard and then, you know, slowly but surely God did it. But you know, now I have two adult children and a teenager, 16. And they all know, even, you know, Phoebe is now part of building the church, but Chloe often sometimes she has work now and she's like trying to get it off the schedule because it's like she knows it's not just a you know, hey, that'd be a good idea. It's like, hey, if you want to live here, you're gonna be at God's house. And a couple weeks where your schedule's off, not a big deal. But we're just ask Campbell, that's not we're making a priority to be in God's house. And so if you have to, if you have to close, you know what I mean, come to church and then close, then you know, that's great. And I think that that's even, you know, two services is so what we didn't do two services because we wanted to.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:He did two services for people that have sports and have so many different things and kids' schedules and all of that, but all of it should actually come down to let's make God's house first. And I just don't think you'll get to heaven and go, man, we shouldn't have put our kids in a position to have the Holy Spirit speak to them in God's house. Yeah, what I mean? Yeah. And I think that that's what you just have to do. And you know, no teenager Sunday morning wakes up and wants to go to church. And so, you know, there's even some practical things that we do as parents, is like, I'll do things like, yeah, yeah, sure, go to the movie, but you need to be home Saturday night. You need to be home early because we have church in the morning. Because I know if you're out till two, yeah, yeah, that you're not gonna want that no one, no matter how spiritual they are, are gonna want to wake up and go to church. And so, you know, so there's even things that you can do as a parent that that I think even fosters easier than Sunday morning, because I know the drill, Sunday morning, and they're like, you know, put the covers over, no, I don't feel good, I'm sick, you know, all the things. And it's like, yeah, but you could have fixed that on Saturday night. So I don't know what the question was of that. But what are some things that what would you say? What are some things that now looking back? You went to church and we forced you, but you didn't even know you were forced. You just thought that that's what you're supposed to do. What are some things that you're thankful for now? And what could have maybe been different if you hadn't?
SPEAKER_01:I love that so much. There's so many things that I'm so thankful for that have just happened while attending church. I think so much happens, as we know, is when we get to church and when we find community and when you get plugged in. I know I would not be the person I am today if it wasn't for the church and the people in the church that have just loved me through every single stage and season of my life. And it's been really beautiful. I know for one thing, I would not be confident if it wasn't for the church. I remember just growing up so insecure. And that's just part of my story of just really having like a strong hold of insecurity on my life. And at some points was depressed, anxious, just really struggled through some seasons. And I remember being encouraged by people that weren't you guys, being corrected by people that weren't maybe corrected, it's not the right, no, corrected. I was definitely corrected in my or challenged in my thinking from different people than you guys. I was able to have conversations. I remember just to shout her out, Lucy Goodlow, who is the best Lucy Goodlow. When I was a freshman in high school, I remember going through just a season where I was I was getting bullied, I was really insecure, and out of just a really broken place, I had really mistreated somebody else in my one of my classes, and I was distraught about it. Like it was not okay, it was not Christian of me, and I was really broken. And I met with Lucy Goodlow about it. And if you know Lucy Goodlow, I'm just gonna describe her for you. The sweetest woman. Like, I don't know if there's a sweeter woman on earth. Like, she is just the best, the sweetest. So just that lady knows Jesus and it shows. Yeah. And I met with her, and I'll never forget it has stuck with me. I remember just like sobbing outside of like wherever we were meeting and telling her what had happened and being so embarrassed to even share with her of what I had done and what I had said. And in her sweet voice, she looked at me and she said, I'm gonna let you feel this feeling and let me feel this feeling because this is God showing you that that like conviction. This is what conviction looks like. And then she taught me how to overcome shame. And so she didn't let me stay in that moment and didn't say bad on you. She really said, Okay, what you're feeling is actually good because you shouldn't have done that. And that's the Holy Spirit giving you, you know, conviction. And now you don't stay there. God forgives you. And she just loved me and like really walked me through that moment. I think even differently than I could have received from you and mom. It was a different person, yeah, frequency. And I could be really open and honest with her about those things. And I've never forgotten that moment anytime that I've messed up. I just go back to that. Okay, this is God allowing me to feel this is what conviction is, and now I don't stay there and I can move past it. And God still loves me. She still loves me. She doesn't treat me differently after I've opened up. And that's just like one of the many stories. But I just know that the church has always loved me through every single season. And I'm so grateful. I'm so, so, so grateful for it. And I still love the church.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. Hey, and maybe this isn't your story. Maybe right now your kids are not in God's house. And then there is like this condemnation on you. Hey, we're not that. We are partnering with you. And then also just encourage you to just, you know, just say, hey, it would mean the world to me if you were there with us on Sunday. You know, if it's an adult kid that's still living with you, you know, hey, these are just kind of, if you're gonna be here, these are the parameters. We're not really charging you rent, we're not doing this, but you do need to do this. And I think it's just really wise. And but then also like, you know, make it enjoyable too. Like, hey, afterwards, we're gonna go get something to eat, you get to pick. And so, not bribery, but I do think that like creating it as a this is gonna be a good environment. And you know, when if a if a teenager is depressed, the the last thing they want to do is to come to church. If a teenager is an introvert, the last thing they want to do is go to a church where there's a uh extroverts on the microphone, but that's like your kid saying, I don't want vegetables and I just want to drink. You know, that we don't do it. In fact, in the South Bay, we'd look down on you if you bought your kids a happy meal now because it's like that's just the devil. We want them to have everything organic and everything. Well, the same thing is we care just as much for their spirit. And we just like, hey, it's not an option. You're gonna eat this, or it's not an option, you're gonna go. And I would just say, as a church, as pastors, we're for you and we're for that. And we also, I I really liked your perspective as a youth pastors. That's our favorite type of kid, is to break it down so that later they actually open up. And that's I think that that's why we're in ministry today is to see those kind of transformations. And so to see your young person or whatever, I just think it's so good. And what is fun as a senior pastor is it's a really unique thing, is we see a lot of young couples that have babies that start attending the church.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And it's such a weird thing. Like, what why weren't you attending a year ago? Why weren't you attending three years ago? And there's something about having your kids, and you're like, I want that like their story was they were raised in God's house. They might have walked away from it, but when they had kids, they're like, Nope, I want to put them in there. And so it's a kind of a cool thing when I see a young parent that hasn't really been to church for a while, but they've got kids. I'm like, I love this. This is you're at the exact right place, you know. And then I think it's don't get weary of that when they get tan. And, you know, I think when they're young, they love God's house, but there's a season of teenagers, they don't love anything. They don't love vegetables, they don't love getting off their phone, but we still put them in an environment to do that. So, hey, Phoebes, we're over on time, which you're just perfect for your mom because she's always over on time. But could you pray for parents and students real quick as we close?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Well, God, we just thank you so much for every single student and parent listening. And I just thank you that whatever season of life, whoever's listening to us, God, I thank you that you would just begin to speak to them, should give them creative wisdom of how to implement this into their lives, into their families, and just encourage any of the parents who have maybe kids that are away from God or maybe struggling with their faith, that you would encourage them that there's no person too far gone and it's never too late to start making your house a priority. And so, God, I just thank you for blessing on every single family, every single young person, and every single parent. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
SPEAKER_00:Amen. Hey, let us know if you like it. Share this with somebody. Don't be like low-key, like, oh, you need this because your kids are helliens. Don't do that. But I really even liked when you prayed and said maybe even a teenager listening, it might be good for a teenager to listen to see what why, what's the why? Yeah. And I think that that's something that you mentioned in our notes that we never got to is not the rules of it, but what's the why of why are we doing this? You know, and so many different things, whether it's mental health, just connection, all that is so good for him. So, hey, why don't you share it with somebody? Let us know that you like it, and we'll see you next week on Campbell Soup. And maybe we'll have a guest appearance from Chloe and Silas at some point. Or is there any there's no more Campbell's.
SPEAKER_01:None that I know about.
SPEAKER_00:That's it. Oh, none that I know about. Oh, God.
