Little Josh wanders the three-year-old room at Promiseland, stopping first at the art station to color a picture of Jesus, which he embellishes with a few lines and circles meant to be Thomas the train.I admire his work. He smiles, but is already scanning the room, sizing up the possibilities: a reading corner with picture books, a play kitchen, bowling with plastic pins, and a rubber ball. Then he sees it: the sturdy plastic slide, brightly hued and inviting. "I want to slide," he says, pulling me by the hand. "Okay," I say.

He points to a spot on the carpet beside the slide. "You sit here and watch me," he says kindly. As a volunteer, that's my job during play time—to watch the kids (we'll talk about the Bible lesson later during small group time). I agree and sit on the floor. Josh climbs to the top of slide, sits down and looks at me expectantly.

"Ready, set, go!" I say. He slides down, his light-up sneakers catching slightly on the slide. He runs over to me and I give him a high-five. ...