A Question at the Counter

Last Tuesday, near the end of drop-in, the room had that slow, restless energy it gets when most of the crowd has gone home. About ten students were still hanging around, not quite ready to leave. I was standing by the counter with Leslie, talking through the food schedule for next week, when Tyler wandered over.

He leaned on the counter and asked, “Do you have anything to drink?” I told him, “We’ve got water,” and he sighed a little and said, “Yeah, I know.” One thing about the Bremerton teenagers—they’re obsessed with soda, or really anything that isn’t water. You could see Tony’s eyes start roaming around the kitchen, just in case we were holding out on him.

That’s when he spotted it: a bottle of grape juice tucked off to the side. His face lit up. “See, you do have juice!” he shouted, like he’d just uncovered a secret stash. Leslie and I jumped in almost at the same time: “That’s the church’s juice, not ours.” The bottle was reserved for communion, not snacks after drop-in.

Tyler didn’t miss a beat. “Oh yeah, I’ve been to church a few times when that happens—you drink from the little cups, right? But I’ve never taken it before.” His voice was casual, but there was a hint of curiosity there, like he’d seen something from a distance and never really understood it.

Leslie looked at him and asked, “Do you know why we take communion?” Tyler shrugged and admitted he didn’t really know. The room felt a little quieter for a moment, like everyone had stepped back just enough to give space to the conversation.

So Leslie began to explain. She told him, “We do it to remember what Jesus did for us.” She pointed to the grape juice and said it represents Jesus’ blood, and then described how the bread is a representation of His body, given for us. As she talked, Tyler listened—really listened—not just like a kid waiting for his turn to speak, but like someone hearing something important for the first time.

Tyler had only come to the kitchen looking for something to drink. But because of that small, ordinary moment—a bottle of grape juice on the counter—Leslie was able to share the gospel with him last week.

Cassandra Jameson

Bremerton Area Director