This morning, as the coffee brewed and the house slowly woke up, I found myself flipping through the latest edition of The Relationships Journal from Young Life. It’s one of those publications that always feels like a warm conversation—full of stories that remind us how much God is at work in the quiet, faithful rhythms of people’s lives.
As I sipped my coffee, I was surprised and delighted to stumble upon a feature about two familiar faces—Jake Bajema and Chris Jackson from East Kentwood. If you know them, you know their hearts for kids, and this piece by Jeff Chesemore captured it beautifully. Chris, a Young Life leader who started volunteering at age 60, and Jake, his area director, are showing what it means to show up with consistency, joy, and love in the lives of students every single week.
For those who haven’t read it before, The Relationships Journal is a seasonal Young Life publication that shares stories of leaders, kids, and communities across the country. It’s full of real-life testimonies that celebrate the power of relationships and the slow, faithful work of walking alongside others as they discover Jesus.
And this story? It’s gold. A beautiful reminder that it’s never too late to say “yes” to being part of God’s work—and that love, presence, and prayer have no age limit.
It turns out I wasn’t the only one who had a cozy moment with The Relationships Journal this week. All across our region, people are flipping through the pages, pausing their day, and lighting up when they see the story of our very own Chris Jackson and Jake Bajema. From coffee shops to staff meetings, it’s become a sweet little buzz—“Did you see it?” “That’s our Jake!” “Can you believe Chris started leading at 60?!”
It’s such a joy to see our community so encouraged and inspired by their story—because it’s not just their story. It’s a glimpse into what’s happening all around us: faithful leaders showing up, students being known by name, and God doing quiet miracles in hallways, lunchrooms, and early morning prayer walks.
We have included the story, written by Jeff Chesemore below! May it encourage you as much as it encouraged us! Check out this month’s full issue here.
HOW ONE VOLUNTEER’S SETTING THE GOLD STANDARD IN HIS GOLDEN YEARS.
Consider the commitment of your average Young Life volunteer leader. They spend countless hours going to the school to meet kids, attending their activities (sports, concerts, plays, etc.), praying for them by name, leading club and Campaigners, and taking them away on summer and weekend camp trips. It’s a high bar — exhausting and demanding for the heartiest of souls — be they college students, young professionals, or adults raising their own kids.
Chris Jackson, a volunteer leader in Kentwood, Michigan, is no exception. He takes on all of the above with a zeal and humility that’s second to none. But there’s something just a little different about Chris.
This particular Young Life volunteer is 68 years old. What’s even more amazing? He didn’t start leading until he was 60!
“NO YOU’RE NOT!”
One might assume Chris was just biding his time, waiting to join up with a ministry he’d admired for years. In reality, unlike the majority of volunteers within the mission, this “seasoned citizen” was brand new to all things Young Life.
“I wasn’t involved in Young Life in high school, nor was my wife, Pam.” The two married in 1978 in their native Indiana, eventually making their way up to Kentwood in the early 1990s. None of the Jacksons’ five kids were involved with Young Life growing up, either, but Chris’s awareness of the ministry began when one of his grown daughters became a volunteer leader in Oklahoma City, later coming on staff as a regional administrator.
Fast forward to 2016, when as Chris tells it, “A group of people in the community, including the mayor of Kentwood, wanted to take a leap of faith and see if Young Life could get started again here at the high school. Pam knows lots of people and she jumped in, eventually becoming the area committee chair.
“One day I said to her, ‘Well, what the heck, I’ll go ahead and join the committee, too.’ And she said, ‘No you’re not! You need to be a Young Life leader!’
“So, I do both. I go to most all the committee meetings and lead in between.”
In June of 2021 Chris retired from a 40-year career working as a retail store manager for Marshalls and Target. He could now devote even more time to reaching kids, which is exactly what he did.
No one is more impressed at Chris’s dedication than his area director, Jake Bajema. “At 68, Chris could easily spend his time golfing or biking, but instead, he’s dedicated his life to helping kids experience Jesus. Chris is in the East Kentwood High School and Pinewood Middle School lunchrooms every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Between the two schools, he visits 12 lunchrooms every week.”
You might think this would be more than enough school lunch times for anyone, and yet his thoughts drift to the two other middle schools in the county without WyldLife.
“I still have Tuesdays and Thursdays free. I’ve asked God to show me if he wants me to start going there, but he hasn’t answered yet. I get impatient and think, ‘Hey, come on. We got to do this now!’ And that’s not necessarily God’s plan. Not to mention that if I go to the lunchrooms at two more schools, my wife’s going to shoot me!”
A DIFFERENT KIND OF WORK
It’s not just during the normal daytime hours, however, that kids are on Chris’s mind. On many mornings around 4:15 you can find the retiree, often accompanied by Jake, walking around one of the schools, praying for kids by name.
“I work several days a week at the pool as a lifeguard/fitness instructor, so I’m there at 4:45 in the morning. Before that I’ll go to one of the schools, those where we have ministry or the two that don’t, and I’ll pray for kids’ specific needs and the work God wants us to do.
“Even more impressive,” said Jake, “is Chris’s devotion to knowing each kid by name. He keeps a book filled with the names of students, which he prays over daily. Kids know Chris, and Chris knows kids. If you were to walk with him through the halls of the high school or middle school, you’d move slowly because kids are constantly drawn to him, captivated by his infectious smile and warm spirit. And if you attend a water polo match, volleyball game, or football game, you’ll likely spot Chris there too.
“Chris has a deep love for the city of Kentwood, and our public schools are the most diverse in Michigan and the sixth most diverse in the country.”
Chris is drawn to every kind of kid, and they reciprocate. “The blessings these kids have created for me is just astronomical. I love getting to know them and to hear about their stories, their background, what they love, and what they’re involved in.”
Of course, Chris also loves to walk alongside kids in their spiritual journeys. “Some have committed themselves to God, some haven’t, some are still curious, and I’m OK with that. I tell people, ‘God only asks one thing of us: to love him unconditionally, and he’ll take care of the rest.’ If he needs my help, he’ll tell me, but I’m just going to love him.”
“WRITE” THINKING
How does Chris view his calling to kids?
“I try to emulate a quote by Mother Teresa. Somebody asked her, ‘What are the qualities that allow you to do all these great things?’ And she responded, ‘I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world. He does the thinking. He does the writing.’
“So, the pencil is unimportant; it just has to allow itself to be used. And every day I think: hey, just be the pencil.
“In many cases, God’s talking to us all the time, and sometimes we just aren’t listening. I try to listen the best I can, as much as I can to what God is saying. I just try to be a listening pencil, if you will.”
LESSONS FROM AN ELDER
“I tell people that as a Young Life leader, I’m an oxymoron!
“But kids don’t care. What’s important to them is to know an adult just as another person; to be able to say, ‘Hey, Chris, how are you doing?’ Or for me to recognize them and say hi to them in the hallway.
“Young Life provides an opportunity for kids to know an adult on a different level, one who doesn’t judge them and is there to help them when they need it. Someone who doesn’t push the gospel down their throat, but who’s there when they’re ready for us to provide the information they need to make the biggest decision of their life.
“Your age doesn’t matter. God works through people in his own way and he’s provided a variety of ways he wants to use me. God has a plan. He’s going to implement it. And the plan he had for me was to work, retire, and get involved in Young Life. I don’t know if I would’ve thought about my life this way 20 years ago, but it’s the plan he had for me.”
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