It’s 6pm on Friday, April 10. Eight young people aged 10–16 and four parents arrive at Mosaic Seventh-day Adventist Community Church in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The room quickly fills with energy as each person moves to their chosen instrument and begins to play. Junior Band has gathered to practise for praise and worship the following day. There is a strong sense of joy and anticipation; friendships are evident and the group shares a deep connection.
I recently sat down with founders and leaders Tracie Mafile’o and Fiona Sio to better understand the heart and passion behind this ministry.
“The idea for Junior Band evolved quite organically. It began with us including our own children in praise and worship at church—playing a few notes or simple chords alongside the adults,” Tracie explains. Fiona adds, “It started with simply creating space for our children to participate and over time it grew into something much bigger than we had imagined.”
Creating space has been key. Mosaic’s vision is to provide meaningful faith experiences for all worshippers. The Junior Band has become a powerful avenue for young people to belong and contribute.
Parents and mentors form the backbone of this ministry, which formally began in early 2023. Mosaic has a long legacy of music ministry, with Tracie and Fiona serving in key worship leadership roles for more than 20 years. A wider network of mentors also supports Junior Band, including Taupo Tani, the late Rouru Kapao, Patrice Macgregor, the Seuseu family, Pastor Keli Pepa (North New Zealand Conference youth director), Shane and Priscilla Tooley, Nicole Gardiner, Pastor Midori Luteru-Ierome, Temu Ierome and the wider Mosaic church whānau (family). Together, they contribute not only practical support like transport and meals, but also funding, coordination, musical guidance, encouragement and prayer.
God has opened the door for incredible life-changing moments and celebrations for Junior Band and their support team. Fiona shares, “Some key highlights include performing at the Gobsmacked (a small business and ministry focusing on performing arts) holiday program and leading worship at NNZ Big Camp in the Junior Tent.” Other highlights have been leading worship for a week-long Junior Camp at Tui Ridge and for a NNZ Conference Junior/Teen event. Sometimes the celebrations are in the small moments like learning a new song, leading a devotional thought for the group, growing in confidence and skills or watching the young people challenge each other.
Fiona shared, “Musical participation has helped build confidence, discipline and teamwork. The kids are learning to support one another, step up when needed and also step back to allow others to shine. It’s not just about music—it’s about growing as individuals and as a team.” Tracie adds, “Kids learn the discipline of practising in their own time and then together as a team.”
Junior Band is a vibrant celebration of young people leading within a church setting. “Kids are seen as leaders in our church; it is their space, and they are encouraged to serve and lead,” shares Tracie. Practices are fun and free flowing, creating a relaxed and enjoyable environment, always with food to share. Through this, Junior Band fosters a strong sense of belonging within the wider Mosaic community. When I asked the band about their favourite parts, their responses reflected both joy and connection. Lincoln Tooley (13, drums, bass, vocals) simply enjoys “playing music”, while his sister Sofia (12, vocals, ukulele) loves the travel and time spent together. Beyond enjoyment, there are clear ripples of personal growth. Tuviya Tani (14, bass, keys) shared that being part of Junior Band has “humbled” him. PJ Risati (10, drums, guitar, vocals) highlighted “communication”, while Moni Tani (13, guitar) noted growth in “discipline”. Leeroy Kokinai (16, guitar, electric guitar) reflected, “Junior Band has helped me communicate better with my friends and family and plan things efficiently.”
Fiona reflects on one of the most significant outcomes: the young people not only grow together musically, but they also intentionally welcome new members, creating a space where everyone feels they belong. New member Elysha Afasene (10, vocals) has already felt this sense of connection and is excited for the journey ahead.
When asked about their favourite memories, the group burst into laughter, sharing stories of road trips, mishaps, adventures and sleepovers. It is clear that Junior Band is more than a worship team; it is a community of friendship, belonging and family.
Part of sustaining growth and faith development for Junior Band members and supporters alike has come through challenges. For Sofia and PJ, it is the long practices; for Leeroy, it’s being the oldest; for Moni, it’s having to sometimes guess the chords. Tracie agrees that the high expectations and long hours of practice can be demanding on the young people; and that having leadership and service roles in weeks like Big Camp and the Gobsmacked holiday program puts a different lens on the experience. One challenge has been creating opportunities for the group to grow in different skills and instruments. Fiona and Tracie do this by encouraging Junior Band to intentionally rotate roles and teach them the value of supporting one another. “It’s been about building character as much as skill. As the young people learn to ‘share your friend’s joy’, it has helped shape a really supportive team culture.”
There are ripples that music participation has on young people’s lives, learning and character development. These ripples “grow emotional intelligence, cooperation, teamwork, resilience and grit”, shares Tracie, to name a few, as well as young people being excited to learn music and new levels of confidence as they play in different settings (Pasifika Legacy, Pasifika Fusion, Gobsmacked holiday program, Conference events, Christmas programs and school events to name a few).
Over the past few years, there has been a constant flow of young people—the youngest aged seven—who are given opportunities to share their love of music, the excitement of taking a leadership role in worship and experience the value of belonging.
What has surprised the leaders? “The skill level JB can play at . . . they keep growing and are so creative,” shares Tracie. “It’s their resilience and the way they support each other,” acknowledges Fiona. For me, as someone who worships with Junior Band regularly, I am reminded that there is never an age restriction for worship and worship leading. I asked Junior Band how they like to worship and they all agreed that using their gift of music was creating meaningful, personal and lasting worship experiences.
Junior Band has big dreams. “I want to play around the world,” says PJ. Elysha hopes to become “good at an instrument”, while Tuviya wants to “keep playing for Jesus”. Sofia dreams of travelling as a group and visiting churches in Australia.
Tracie shares in these aspirations, expressing a desire to see the group continue to travel, perform or lead worship outside Palmerston North. For Fiona, the dream is to see Junior Band continue to grow, support one another not only as musicians, but as friends and believers.
Junior Band is making a difference by building up and reviving the worship music at their local church, Mosaic, as well as demonstrating children/teen-led worship at the conference level. Fiona says Junior Band is “helping shape a culture of youth leadership within the church . . . and that young people can lead, serve and be used by God when they are willing”.
The encouragement to persevere in leading and coordinating the Junior Band is obvious. For Tracie, “It brings ‘tears’ to see the kids grow in their giftings and in their character and in their walk with God.” For Fiona, “It’s about building the kingdom and creating opportunities for our children to thrive.”
I asked the group to finish the sentence “Jesus is . . .” and was humbled by their response.
“My best Friend”: Lincoln.
“King of my heart”: Sofia.
“My favourite Person”: Moni.
“My Saviour”: PJ.
“Great”: Elysha.
“Everything”: Tuviya.
“My Friend”: Leeroy.
As Junior Band settles back to their instruments and practise for the church service in the morning, I am reminded of Mark 10:14: “Let the little children come to me”. Junior Band is a powerful example of giving space to children and young people, empowering them to lead and encouraging practical faith development through music ministry.
Julene Duerksen-Kapao lives in Palmerston North, New Zealand and is a member of the Mosaic Community Church. Julene is an educator dedicated to inclusive education, student wellbeing and helping young people thrive through strengths-based support.
