Indianapolis | People packed tightly around the roped racetrack in the SBC Indy exhibit hall to watch, as brightly painted pinewood derby cars were placed shoulder to shoulder atop the incline track. This was the national Royal Ambassadors Derby Race held following the WMU Missions Celebration on Sunday, June 9. Xander Tallman, age 9, from Patoka First Baptist Church, was one of eight boys from different states participating.
“We received an email that said WMU is looking for representatives from different states to do the RA race,” said Jill McNicol, WMU Director at Patoka First. “And I said, well, we’ve got a fourth grader that comes to Mission Journey Kids, which is the mission’s discipleship curriculum for children first through sixth grade. Would that work?”
That led to a flurry of activity to research a kit and build a car, Reed Tallman, Xander’s dad, said. They finished the car just two days before the race. Reed is pastor of Patoka First and stood trackside with his wife, Anna, and their other three young children, who all cheered Xander on while mom and dad talked about how his car finished in each successive round.
Their Wednesday night children’s program is not currently large enough to support splitting boys and girls into Royal Ambassador and Girls in Action groups, so they are using the Mission Journey Kids curriculum.
“We have at least nine, usually, maybe up to 15 elementary kids. And then there’s always five, six preschoolers,” Anna said. “We do kids worship together on Wednesday night with the preschoolers, then we split (the age groups).
The church is hoping that activities like the derby cars can change that. “The pastor and I have talked about how this can be something for our community, the boys in our community, and the men to step up and start getting some interest again in a boys group,” McNicol said, as she stood watching the race with Lindsay Wineinger, Illinois WMU President.
If Xander’s experience is any indication, they have something to build on. As the rounds progressed, he could be spotted with head-tilted, leaned in close, eye-level with the top of the track. He carefully placed his car, hoping to get it pointed squarely toward the finish line 32 feet away. He then joined the other boys at the finish line as their cars blazed down the track in under three seconds.
And while his car wasn’t the fastest Sunday afternoon, Xander thoroughly enjoyed the experience, from hand-painting on the RA emblem to the cheers of the crowd at SBC 24.