B linking lights and flying machines bring an air of excitement to the upper classroom in Second Reformed Church of Hackensack, New Jersey. But it’s the radiant smiles and joyful outbursts that really light up and energize the room. Here, at this afterschool STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) program, it’s all hands-on experimentation.
“The kids love it,” says Rev. Dwayne Jackson, co-pastor of Second Reformed and former engineer. It is both fitting and fun that his careers have come full circle, he says.
“And the adults love it more than the kids,” adds co-pastor Rev. Anna Jackson, with a smile.
It’s not just STEM fun and games, though. This time is also for building relationships and learning lessons that will last a lifetime—all in a church context. By another name, that’s outreach.
How a STEM program got started at the church
It started as an afterschool program that met at Second Reformed of Hackensack three days each week.
“Our church is right across the street from a middle school,” says Anna. “The goal initially was to provide homework assistance and do some recreational activities with the young people. We went out and canvassed the schools to get people to come.”
“The church’s presence in the community included feeding programs a few times a year, but the actual interaction was minimal,” adds Dwayne. “The majority of our folks commute into Hackensack. The children in particular didn’t have much interaction in the church—just brought in by their parents for church, then left afterward. So we started getting to know the community, and Anna put together the afterschool program.”
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Shortly after, Boy Scouts of America and Fairleigh Dickinson University approached Second Reformed to see if the church would be the location for a STEM program. The Jacksons said yes and pivoted their afterschool program. For a while, Boy Scouts led the STEM activities, but after some organizational challenges, the Jacksons and Second Reformed received that responsibility as well.
The kids loved it, but that pilot program was short-lived.
“Then the pandemic brought things to a grinding halt,” says Dwayne. “But we were determined not to lose anything, for the kids or for the church.”
Maintaining the program during the pandemic was something of an experiment itself, as individuals, churches, and organizations adapted to a new reality. Each week, the STEM students would pick up their packets from the church, then do the project over Zoom with the Jacksons and other adult volunteers.
It was enough to keep those relationships and the interest in STEM until everyone could return in-person to the church classrooms.
The impact of the STEM program on the kids
“We try to cover chemistry, aerospace engineering, structural engineering, electrical engineering, blinking lights, flying devices, acids and bases—and the science behind it all,” says Dwayne. “Each child gravitates toward different things. We’re hoping this will pique their interest in going into STEM fields, and also that they’ll continue on to college.”
The field of learning goes well beyond science and mechanics, though.
“We don’t do step-by-step instructions, so they make mistakes and that opens up an opportunity to learn,” says Dwayne. “It’s not failing, but asking, ‘What do we need to adjust? How do we correct that or make it work?’ It’s a lesson that becomes transferable to life.”
“We tell them not to get discouraged if things don’t go the way they thought, but we figure out how to make the best of it,” adds Anna. “And that teaches them how to think critically.”
Together, the kids are also learning to collaborate and encourage one another, says Dwayne. He shares about the time all the kids jumped in to help one student, on the brink of a meltdown, with a project that had gone off the rails a bit.
“There’s camaraderie among them—a spirit of competitiveness, but also encouraging and helping one another,” he says.
Indeed, this afterschool program is a safe space to learn and be together.
“Not always do the smart kids have a safe space,” says Anna. “If you’re in your group at school, you’re set aside as the nerdy kids or as uncool. But here, they can be as smart or as nerdy as they want. They can ask as many questions as they want. There’s no incentive to hide who they are. That’s invaluable for them to have.
“It’s nice to create space for kids like that.”
Overtime, the Jacksons and other adult volunteers have had a front-row seat to the development of the kids who attend the afterschool STEM program. Some have joined, seemingly shy, introverted, and not fully engaged, but over time and with faithful relationships, that changes.
“After a while you start to see them blossom,” says Anna. “For one of the kids, it used to be like pulling teeth, but now he’s proud of himself and has a sense of self-worth. That for me is a God-thing. We have the ability to be a part of that in helping him become all that he can be.”
Why the STEM program matters to Second Reformed
The Jacksons are seeing the impact of the STEM program in the lives of individual kids, but they also have a bigger vision for the afterschool program. For Second Reformed Church of Hackensack, this is ministry and outreach—a way for the church to connect with and be present in its community.
“If a church is in a community, it needs to be a part of the community,” says Dwayne. “The children are going to be the next generation to keep the church alive and going. I don’t know if we’ll get more families in the church because of the STEM program. We don’t know how big of an impact this will have. But it’s nice that the community knows our church is here for them. We don’t preach religion to the kids, but we get to live out our values of love and respect that they deserve.”
“A lot of people are not growing up in the church and don’t have a relationship to the church,” adds Anna. “This is planting seeds so that when the young people come back and think about church, they think about Pastor Dwayne, Pastor Anna, and the volunteers—and that gives them a positive sense of what church can be. It might not be about worship, but it’s a good first step. And that’s important.”
Like they’ve encouraged the kids to do, the Jacksons are experimenting and making the best of the pieces they’ve been given. They’re taking a dichotomy, mixing it up, and using it to share God’s love.
“This is all happening in the church. That’s the cool thing for me,” says Anna. “So often, you have church and science and they don’t go together. But why not? It’s all related. We’re working with the gifts and skill sets we have to work with. We’re thinking of outreach in a different way. Churches should ask: What is it we can do well, and how can we turn that into something that we can use to reach out to others?”
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“When we think of ministry and churches being successful, people count how many people are in the church on Sunday. But that’s not what it’s about,” says Dwayne. “If we’re touching the lives of children through science, then we’re doing an amazing job. We don’t know the exact degree of success, but it’s a major ministry that’s impacting lives. It’s shaping and forming lives.”
Becky Getz is a writer and editor for the Reformed Church in America's communication team. You can contact Becky at bgetz@rca.org.
