“What do you think young people need most?”

• Cullen: Challenge. Challenge requires that proper support for such a challenge is in place, but ultimately challenge and people who support you. 
• Jana: They need a safe place to ask questions, to be seen, and to be asked good questions for learning that is their own. 

Having two resident leaders with different perspectives on what young people need most could seem opposing, but instead it created a culture inside the Act Five House that felt dynamic. Neither of us were wrong, but we also didn’t have a full view. We needed each other’s perspective to create an environment that allowed room for real people and a plethora of needs.

Throughout this year we have been shown some of the most authentic ways of what it means to be human through our students. 

In March it became clear that there was tension amongst the girls . Living so closely together in one room, combined with the stress of assignments and a desire not to say or do anything that might hurt each other was creating a tense environment. Their longing was to live together well and to care for each other, and yet they each were feeling the strain. What often happens in community settings was happening – they began living into a belief that if they just didn’t talk about the problems, the problems wouldn’t exist. While observing these dynamics we decided that challenging them to have a conversation was the way forward. Sitting on the floor at Benediction church, the atmosphere started out thick and uncomfortable, knowing that this was not what they wanted to be doing. Yet as I (Jana) gave them the challenge that only they could choose a way through this and that they could face it or keep living the way they were, they did choose the way through. They shared where they were each at, they acknowledged their differing needs, there was an apology offered and grace extended. This was an example of a moment that called for the hard thing to be done, and the fruit of facing that challenge allowed the girls to be able to continue their year together, with clarity and the ability to see each other through. 

Through pursuing challenges and being challenged by others, we are given opportunities to see pieces of ourselves that are most raw, and perhaps often hidden. And in those challenges we can be formed by seeing those honest, hidden and raw pieces. Not hiding them, not reframing them. We grow resiliency and self confidence and we learn to recognize that we do not need to be afraid of hard things. And when we do so in community, we can celebrate that journey together.

By our second week living at Blake Street it had become apparent that not everyone knew how to do laundry. We had told the students where the laundry machine was and that they would need to get their own soap, and this had left them with the challenge to be in charge of their own laundry routines. This was one of those moments however where a challenge failed us and quickly we realized that we would need to have some conversations about how often laundry was done, how much soap to use, and how to use a laundry machine. It meant we would have to let students know that we see their fears of trying something new, of messing up in front of a group of people they had just met, of being corrected, or of proving oneself incapable in front of a new group and having to worry about their belonging to that group. After we could properly see people we could then choose a course of action, some embarrassing stories of how we got it wrong, showing the group as a whole how to do something that in honesty was new to a few, and keep the environment considerate and compassionate. 

Through seeing others and giving them a safe space and room for vulnerability, empathy from others, grace for their incompleteness, celebration for their accomplishments, and the ability to celebrate another’s worth not even when it didn’t matter all that much to our own benefit. 

As we have led these young people this year we’ve discovered that support and challenge is not just what young people need, but in fact what we all need. We all crave a place to belong, we all face challenges and seek to find purpose. We all want to be seen and we want to take pride in the identity we have. As we leave this year the hope has always been that our students would feel prepared to live into the real world rooted in their relationship in Christ and in the places where they will go next. What we didn’t realize was how much we were also being formed, how much we too were seen and challenged and asked questions and forced to see other perspectives. So, to our students from this past year, we hope you leave pursuing challenges and wanting to be cherished and we hope you know that so many of us are after this very same thing.

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Serve & Observe is back.

101 high school students from 4 different cities have come to Hamilton in the past month and a half for 2-3 days of learning and service in the city. These trips take students into places they might not naturally find themselves – giving lunches to people living on the street with Gore Park Food Outreach, sorting clothing donations with Helping Hands, digging into a community garden with a local church or painting new tenant’s homes with Indwell. These experiences aren’t just about the hands-on experience though. Students are introduced to Indwell’s model of support, hear about the valuable work of Eva Rothwell in empowering families living in poverty, sit and eat with friends from L’arche and talk about the newcomer experience with Micah House. 

What is Serve & Observe?

Serve & Observe trips with Act Five offer high school students a meaningful 2–3 day experience of service, learning, and reflection in the city of Hamilton. Designed for high school and church youth groups, these trips aim to inspire youth and their leaders to serve others, deepen their character, and explore how faith connects to everyday life and justice.

The Serve & Observe model emphasizes a posture of both action and attentiveness. Participants are invited not only to do but also to notice—to listen deeply to the people, places, and stories they encounter. 

Rooted in the biblical call of Genesis 2:15—to abad (serve, cultivate) and shamar (keep, observe, protect)—these experiences are designed not only for doing, but for noticing. We hope participants can step into these communities and contexts with open hands and open eyes: offering themselves in service while learning to see, listen, and receive the stories, strengths, and needs of the people and places they encounter.

This model resists the temptation to “fix” or “solve,” and instead cultivates a humble presence—one that seeks to learn from and alongside others, in relationship. Serve & Observe reminds us that service is not just about activity, but about formation: this can be the formation of our character, our understanding of justice, our communities, and even our perception of what we have in common with others who are different from us.

Through Serve & Observe trips, students are encouraged to think about how God is working outside of the communities that they are familiar with. They are pushed out of their comfort zone and introduced to a city that is messy, but filled with God’s grace – made visible by the many organizations serving our neighbours on the margins of society. 

Maranatha Church’s Serve & Observe

Just last week, a group came from Maranatha Church and spent a Saturday volunteering with Gore Park Outreach, an organization that feeds about 1,000 people every Saturday. The students were given the opportunity to set-up, serve food and eat with the people who came. Experiences like these are invaluable for shaping compassion and inspiring youth to expand their communities. 

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