The following is a reflection on Brighton Serve 2015 by Linda Jeronimus: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive now the Holy Spirit.” John 20:21b Our church responded “Here I am (we are) Lord.” From prayer shawl makers, prayer partners, kitchen help, worksite volunteers, creative Gems,... Read More...
What do people experience after Serve? A lot of people who go on Serve find that they are: 1. More thankful for what they have and want to be more generous with it. After meeting people with great needs and seeing God as the Provider we need... Read More...
The following is a piece by Jason Leif, originally written for The Twelve. At the institution where I teach I’ve come to be known as the “guy who hates serve projects.” This comes from my ineffective attempts to carefully critique all of the money and time that go... Read More...
By now, I hope you have had the chance to have gotten a peak at the graphic for this years Serve theme. If I did my job correctly, you have maybe asked yourself: What does this mean? … What is with all the dots in an upside... Read More...
The following is an excerpt from the student’s devotions in our 2015 theme material at Live It and Serve this summer. It was Friday of my mission week. That week was the first week I had ever sat with a homeless man. I took my tray and sat with... Read More...
The following is an excerpt from the student’s devotions in our 2015 theme material at Live It and Serve this summer. Diane grew up in what others would consider a Christian home. Diane’s family; two older brothers, mom, dad and Diane, went to church every Sunday – twice, but... Read More...
The following is an excerpt from the student’s devotions in our 2015 theme material at Live It and Serve this summer. A few years ago, I was wandering through a mall in the city in which I work. I had finished a meeting with one of my friends from... Read More...
Many of our students and those of us in the youth ministry field spent time this summer on a service trip. These weeks are almost always amazing. After experiencing a week of living, serving, eating and worshiping together in Christian community, in true unity with God and... Read More...
Three years ago I came to the small town of Menno, South Dakota to serve as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church (NALC/LCMC). It was the first time I had ever heard of this “thing” called Serve. Our town has a population of 608 and five (yes, count... Read More...
I love mission trips and service projects! In forty years of youth ministry, I have been on close to 100 of them. What’s not to love? We get to obey God’s command to minister to the “least of these.” We travel and experience different cultures as we... Read More...
In last week’s blog entry, Jerry Meadows wrote about prepping students for missions and questioned how they might integrate a missions experience into their daily lives once suitcases were unpacked. It is the hope of most youth leaders that students come away from a mission trip having... Read More...
When asked about my favorite mission trip, I always say the next one. As a Youth and Family Pastor, I took my school students to places across North America, Mexico, and even to Vietnam. Later, while at CURE International, I became close friends with nationals in 11... Read More...