“Are you the new janitor?”

This is the question that students at Graham-Kapowsin High School kept asking Jon Asher, our Campus Life Site Leader at G-K. It’s not because he wears a Bethel School District badge, nor because he wears coveralls or industrial shirts at the school. It’s because he can constantly be seen around the school cleaning up…whether it’s picking garbage up off the ground, or wiping food off tables.

But it’s not because it’s his job or because he has to. Jon is regularly seen cleaning up around the school because we are called to go where the youth are and be His representation to them. Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to instead be the one serving (Matthew 20:28). So that’s what we do: we serve.  

There’s something you need to know about Jon Asher. He has what I call a “cool factor” that not everyone has (in fact, most people don’t). He can draw lots of kids without even trying and he doesn’t struggle with finding ways to talk to kids. But Jon understands God’s Kingdom principles, and one of those principles is earning the right to be heard through faithfulness, humility, and serving. 

The need is so great in every community and in every school. So many kids are lost and wounded, desperately wanting someone to offer them hope. There are so many open doors and opportunities to go where the students are and engage them in authentic relationships. 

But believe it or not, not everyone was initially excited about our staff and volunteers coming into their schools or communities. There have been people at G-K High School that were skeptical about Jon and his team working with its students. They’ve seen lots of people and groups say they were going to serve the students, but where are they now? People have made lots of promises but never followed through. Understandably, the school wanted to protect students from more empty promises, abandonment, and rejection.

Jon hasn’t taken any shortcuts. He knows that being cool and fun isn’t enough–he’s had to demonstrate that he and his team are for real and that they are committed to the students at G-K. They’ve demonstrated this by showing up consistently and humbly serving — doing the things that no one else wants to do.