Resurrection in the Everyday
Student Ministries Pastoral Letter | May 2025
Dear Student Families,
If you’re like me, Easter Sunday felt a bit like the spiritual Super Bowl: choir singing, kids in pastel, grandma snapping pictures nobody asked for. But then Monday showed up with algebra tests, laundry piles, and an empty coffee pot that felt downright un-resurrected. So here’s the question we asked our students and now pose to all of us: If Jesus really walked out of His grave, what does that mean for how we walk into Monday, into the unknowns of summer, and into the plain old routines of life?
First, it means guilt no longer leads our lives. The cross cleared the debt, and the empty tomb is God’s stamped receipt: paid in full. That frees us to trade the exhausting “keep-God-impressed” hustle for the lighter yoke of being named beloved.
Second, it means grief and worry have a shelf life. Loss still hurts and uncertainty still knocks, but resurrection puts an expiration date on every sorrow. We can step into changing schedules, camp forms, and college visits knowing the worst thing that could happen has already been swallowed up by the best news ever told.
Finally, a risen Jesus means our ordinary moments aren’t ordinary anymore. Packing lunches, mowing the yard, picking up a friend from practice, each is a chance to echo His life: to speak a kind word, shut down gossip, or pray for the neighbor we barely know.
My prayer for our families this summer is simple: that we arrive in August with pockets full of small resurrection stories, times we chose forgiveness over payback, courage over comfort, presence over hurry. If you gather just one of those stories each week, the beach photos won’t be the only souvenirs worth keeping.
With you on the journey,
Mark Gaines
Director of High School Ministry
