Pioneer Memorial Church Youth Chapel's Spelunker Quest escape room creatively brought the Mosaic Sanctuary to life, engaging students, pastors and families in an interactive Bible-learning adventure through immersive puzzles and teamwork-driven challenges. [Photos by Stanton Witherspoon]
The Youth Sabbath school at Pioneer Memorial Church (PMC) embarked on a fresh and immersive approach to biblical education with Spelunker Quest, an escape room experience designed to teach students about the Mosaic Sanctuary. This innovative initiative, led by Janine Lim, a Sabbath school mentor and associate dean of Online Higher Education at Andrews University, demonstrated the power of creativity in making biblical lessons engaging and interactive.
Lim, who had previously designed an escape room for a family reunion that saw 200 participants, had long envisioned bringing a similar experience to the youth Sabbath school.
“A couple of years ago, I designed an escape room for a family reunion, and 200 people went through it. And since then, I’ve been dreaming,” Lim shared. “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have one for youth Sabbath school? But I just couldn’t figure out how we would do it. Then I had an idea for it to focus on the sanctuary.”
In July 2024, Lim began working intensively on the concept, but the challenge of decorations and execution remained. As momentum built and others stepped in with creative contributions, the vision gradually took physical form. Volunteers joined the effort, transforming the youth chapel into a dark, mysterious cave, complete with atmospheric lighting and immersive sound effects.
Beyond the mechanics of the escape room, Lim’s motivation was rooted in her own experiences as a teenager. “I participated in an epic experience that I keep remembering for the rest of my life—visual, big, epic—that taught an important lesson about the great controversy. I want our youth to have a similar experience.”
The escape room officially opened on Sabbath afternoon, February 8, running 45-minute countdown sessions from 3:00-8:00 p.m. for Sabbath school students and interested guests.
Due to overwhelming interest, Spelunker Quest was made available on additional days. On Monday, February 10, pastors and other youth had the opportunity to navigate the escape room and experience its biblical lessons firsthand. Then, on Friday, February 14, families were invited to participate, further broadening the reach of this unique learning experience.
PMC Youth Pastor, Lindsey Pratt, expressed excitement about the project and the impact of creative teaching on young minds.
“The youth chapel is transformed into a cave, for a spelunker quest. That means a caving expedition. And we’re doing this because we’ve invited our high school students to come in here and experience the Sanctuary firsthand.” Pratt explained.
“We have some phenomenal leaders who have created this space and put these puzzles together to unearth the significance of the sanctuary. So, we’re launching our study of the sanctuary and the importance of that. It’s a cool thing because students can come, see, and feel what it was like, and understand why the mosaic sanctuary was so important and what it points to later in life.”
For the students, Spelunker Quest was more than just an escape room—it was a challenging, thought-provoking experience that required teamwork, problem-solving, and biblical knowledge. Nontsi Jaricha, a PMC youth participant, noted how the clues helped make connections beyond the book of Exodus.
“It is just so good. It was so fun! I think, personally, for me, I felt that there’s so many other things in the Bible outside the book of Exodus that connect to the sanctuary because like all the clues we were using, some of them weren’t even part of Exodus, which is crazy. So I feel like it was a really good way to get your brain working too.”
Ana Slavujevic, another participant, highlighted the importance of communication and teamwork.
“You have to have lots of good communication skills with each of your team members. Once you find a clue, you can’t keep it hidden. You have to make sure that everyone knows, or else they’re just going to be looking for something that isn’t there.”
The design of the puzzles left an impression on Marina Slavujevic, who appreciated how the challenges interlinked seamlessly.
“I liked how one puzzle connected to another puzzle, and then from there on, another puzzle connected. We were able to gather all the pieces together to find the final message. Also, the props were so well done! The lighting and the music made it feel really spooky—it felt real.”
Beyond the thrill of solving puzzles, Spelunker Quest fostered a deeper connection to scripture and community among the participants.
“I encourage other people to do this stuff,” Nontsi added. “Apart from encouraging Bible study, I feel like it builds team bonding among the youth. It was so awesome! I would do it again, definitely. And honestly, that’s what makes it fun. I can have fun studying the Bible! It doesn’t always have to be just opening a Bible and sitting there. There can be a larger center, an interactive element, like doing it with friends.”
For Andrews Academy junior Kevin Mendonca, the challenge of solving the puzzles added to the experience.
“I just came out of the amazing escape room experience at Sabbath school, and I would definitely say it was great. I was part of the first group. That was so cool—being one of the first. All the puzzles were intricate and really well made. They were kind of hard, but they were all solvable. If you work together, it’s really fun.”
The success of Spelunker Quest has sparked enthusiasm for more interactive learning experiences in the future. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from students, pastors, and families has shown that creativity is a powerful tool for bringing biblical lessons to life.
“We’re sending out an invitation for all you guys to drive down the next time we do it,” Nontsi excitedly announced. “It’s going to be worth it!”
Through creativity and collaboration, PMC’s youth Sabbath school has brought an ancient biblical structure to life, making the Mosaic Sanctuary a tangible and unforgettable experience for a new generation.
Stanton Witherspoon is a freelance multimedia journalist based in Berrien Springs. He also serves as a teacher in the PMC Youth Sabbath School.
