The Church is Alive

The Church is Alive 

2015 ELCA National Youth Gathering

            So often I hear people talk about how churches are dying. I hear those horrible statistics. This week we were all honored by being with the youth in Detroit, watching it on live-stream, or having our Facebook and Instagram walls covered in Gathering messages. Let me say...the church is not dead. When we begin to feel negative or all alone, please remember the images and stories we saw this week. Everyone keeps asking me what I think my favorite moment this week was and it is the same for every gathering....standing in a crowd of 30,000 teens shouting Jesus. What do I constantly learn from our young people....

 
1) Giving hugs are fantastic for the soul (especially to strangers). 
2) Simple eye contact and asking a person where a person lives starts great friendships. 
3) Just showing up is often the key to evangelism. 


Teens who will be going into 9th grade - through just graduates in 2018! I look forward to seeing you in Houston!