RELIGION

Buckle Up and Pray! Danger and Desire at My Church Car Rally

The youth group race that revved me up for the wrong reasons

Youth group teens piled on top of a truck. I’m second to the left in the stripes, 1997. All photos are author’s photos.

Sizzling summer nights in the backseat of a car?

Yes, please!

But hold on there, Jezebel. Pump the brakes.

This is godly fun we’re having, not “worldly” fun.

At 16 years old, the difference wasn’t totally clear, though.

I couldn’t always tell whether the tingly feelings came from the spiritual highs of Jesus’s love or an accidental brush on the arm with the dark-haired worship team bass player in the Stussy shirt.

Youth group was the place where body and soul collided.

Me sitting on our family’s El Camino. This car had a HUGE backseat. 1997.

Every Wednesday evening my evangelical church hosted youth group. The weekly gathering provided high schoolers a place to connect with other believers and learn about Jesus.

As a lifelong Christian school student from kindergarten on, I spent every day neck-deep in the Bible and godly relationships. For me, youth group was actually a time to let loose.