Pancake Breakfast
Practice
Do it together. Ask for help from neighbors with kids.
Keep it consistent. Keep it at a known location and be aware of the school calendar.
Guard your intention. It is a common table and a place to talk about important things.
Pray the kids out to school.
“There is hardship in everything except eating pancakes.”
Hundreds of pancakes are served at the Gilley house every other Tuesday morning before students leave for Arapahoe High School. It began for Sean and Jill Gilley with a simple question, “What if?” What if there could be a place for their high school sons to invite their classmates to begin the day talking about things that matter in a space where everyone belongs? What if there could be a place for students to connect across the dividing lines of affluence, participation in athletics, or achievement in academics? This simple question led to a creative solution. Host an open house and provide a pancake breakfast, invite a trusted voice to talk about Jesus, and then pray for students to send them out to school.
Jill had established connections with the mothers in the neighborhood from her family living in Cherry Knolls for 10 years. When she extended the invitation to moms to participate, there was immediate buy-in. It was an easy ask to help provide breakfast for their kids every other week. “You have to ask for help,” Jill shared. A SignUpGenius was created for the food which included dozens of pancakes and a lot of toppings! Whipped cream, bacon, sausage, fruit, chocolate milk, and hot cocoa quickly became staples and a celebrated part of the bi-weekly rhythm. “I would have dreams of running out of bacon on Monday nights,” laughed Jill. It never occurred. There’s always enough.
Sean and Jill’s two sons (Sophomores and Juniors when Pancake Breakfast began) created a GroupMe and invited students. The invitation quickly spread and grew from a few dozen to over 60 students. Kids shared the invite with their mothers and asked them to volunteer. The invite was simple and clear. Pancake Breakfast was a place to share a meal and talk about what mattered most.
Pancake Breakfast ends with a 5-minute talk from a teacher, coach, parent, or local pastor sharing about their love of Jesus and His love for the students. It’s the moment they guard most. Jill shared that the house is completely silent, with people of varying faith backgrounds and church affiliations sitting in the room. The final moment is a prayer of blessing and protection over a houseful of high school students who just ate hundreds of pancakes at a common table.
Pancake Breakfast will be hosted at Sean and Jill’s home for only half of this school year as their youngest son is now a Senior. The second half the school year Pancake Breakfast will move to a home with a Junior and Freshman. The practice will continue to create a place for students and parents to belong and begin a Tuesday knowing they are seen, known, and loved. And, how great it is to begin a day with pancakes.
Jill’s pancake recommendations: Kodiak pancakes are protein-packed, Costco pancake mix is the most economical for making hundreds of pancakes, vanilla extract is the “secret sauce,” and she is amazed at the idea of “pan sheet pancakes.”
