2. SPRING 2015 / WALNUTCREEKCHURCH.ORG 13
astor Joel Swanson of Walnut Creek
Johnston has led various teen ministries
for eight years, but none of those years has
been quite as bittersweet as this one. His
oldest of six children will be graduating
from Hoover High School this spring.
Bethany Swanson, an 18-year-old with a wide smile,
has grown up watching her father Joel minister to spiri-
tually lost people her entire life. Bethany came to her
senior year following in those footsteps.
Over the years, the Swansons have banded together
with many Christian families and volunteers from
Walnut Creek Church to outreach to Meredith Middle
School and Hoover High School. Amidst youth groups
and before-and-after-school programs, the most
surprisingly impactful group has been the Hoover
girls’ cross country team. “We never actually thought
about cross country as being a mission field,” Joel said.
“Bethany just liked to run.”
As a freshman on the team, Bethany saw an opportuni-
ty to build a strong band of runners that could possibly
impact their peers for Christ. She began asking Chris-
tian students at Hoover and home-schooled kids from
Parent-Teen Ministry to consider joining the team.
“Our team was very small, so we tried to recruit people
who we knew would have good work ethics,” Bethany
said. “When they joined the team, it became easier for
us to get people excited about coming to youth group
and church events because we’d worked together to
build trusting relationships with them.”
One such recruit knew right away that the Lord had
given her this opportunity. Rachel Amann, a sopho-
more on the cross country team, is home-schooled and
taking one class at Hoover.
“I went into it with the goal of being able to reach
out to people,” Rachel said. “Since there were a lot of
Christians already on the team, it made sense.” Grow-
ing up in the church offered few opportunities for Ra-
chel to invite non-Christian friends to church events.
Since joining the cross country team, the girls have
made it their mission to be encouraging and inclusive
to their teammates. “I’m thankful to now have a mis-
sion field,” Rachel said. “I want my church friends to
stay my strongest friends.”
Don’tlet
anyonelook
downonyou
becauseyou
areyoung,
butsetan
examplefor
thebelievers
inspeech,in
conduct,in
love,infaith
andinpurity.
1Timothy4:12
Parent-Teen Ministry
Parent-Teen Ministry
meets on Saturday
nights from 6–8 p.m. in
the Chapel at Walnut
Creek Windsor Heights.
wlnt.cc/ptm
Brigitte Haugen is a cafe supervi-
sor and marketing coordinator for
Sodexo. She attends Walnut Creek
Windsor Heights and lives in West
Des Moines.
With roughly 30 runners on the team, the girls have
seen many examples of Christ’s movement, especial-
ly in building team unity. Pushing through difficult
practices and battling nerves together before races has
turned the team into a family.
The girls even rally together to pray before each race.
“It is a big witness for Christ,” Rachel said.
In years past, Bethany would run to her car in tears
about a poor performance or often grumble about un-
met goals. This year, she has made a conscious decision
to take the focus off herself and rather, pursue people.
Running in her big sister Bethany’s footsteps, Lydia
Swanson is on the middle school cross country team.
Bethany has become a big fan of her sister.
“At last year’s State cross country meet, Lydia took two
minutes off her normal time! I was so proud of her,”
Bethany said. “Seeing my sister break this physical
barrier was an amazing victory from God.” Through
discipleship of her sister and other young girls, Bethany
has realized she is free to find joy in others’ difficulties
and accomplishments.
“Bethany shows the right attitude that a Christian
should have toward the world,” said teammate Kaitlin
Math. “She makes being involved fun.”
Joel is proud of his daughters and other Christian teens
who are working daily for God’s Kingdom. “This life
with Christ is not about reaching goals but about pro-
viding opportunities for these kids in their journeys to
see who Christ really is,” Joel said. “None of my peers
said anything to me about Christ in high school."
Along with church events, small-group parties, and Bi-
ble studies where they’ve shared the Gospel with their
friends, the girls strive for their lives to reflect that
same truth on and off the track. “Kids may know ‘the
Jesus story,’ but I don’t think they see a lot of people
living it out,” Bethany said. “We know that they see our
attitudes.”
In a society where self-centeredness and negativity
are commonplace, the girls’ desire is to exemplify true
Christian servanthood and love, leaving a lasting im-
pact that Lydia and her friends can continue.
“When I joined the cross country team in 8th grade, I
joined it to run,” Bethany said. “I didn’t think I would
have an impact.”
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