Archive for High School Youth
The Super Dome is my Home
I have most of my time here in New Olreans at the Super Dome. It has been a very interesting time here so far. This is my 6th NYG and I have never seen anything like this before. My favorite part of the Gathering has always been the Mass Events. It is so exciting and humbling to play a role in them this time around.
It’s been exciting back stage so far. Hanging out with Brock Gill, Jesus Painter, Skit guys, and even Jesus himself (rather the man who plays him!) has been great. I also spent alot of time talking with our speaker Kellie yesterday… She is truly an amazing woman.
I love being in this place. I’m a very big sports fan, so just being in the the Super Dome- the place where they play NCAA championship games, Super Bowls, and even the NFC championship games just a few months ago is such a great experience for me. The last two days I have found my way into the Saints locker room (even though right now it is in total reconstruction). But, not only is this place home to some great sporting events, this is also the home of some great spirtitual times. It has been awesome to see the Dome transform from a home of less than 100 people in the day to more than 25,000 people at night! The energy, enthuisiasm, and passion for the Lord is so great in this place! It was great last night having my own group from Redeemer up close to the stage and Abby playing a part of stage! It’s also been very cool to see 5 of my college kids up on stage dancing and praising God on stage in front of 25,000 people! The last few nights truly have been amazing, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Gathering will bring!
Time is going way too fast, and I really miss being a part of my own group of awesome Redeemer youth and adults, but I will enjoy the last few days of the Super Dome being my home!
The Challenge: What Do WE BELIEVE?
Our youth are going to bed with a tough question on their minds.
Beginning with a sweltering 5k race and ending with a run to a nearby hotel to catch a late night ”Skit Guys” show, our group rode an emotional roller coaster filled with both highs and lows on Day #2 of the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans.
At 5:30am, ten of Redeemer’s crew headed out from our hotel to run a 5k race at the Superdome. After a challenging run (given the weather conditions), the ten returned having completed their goal! Emily Griebel finished with the best time.
Then, we attended a Bible study in mid-morning that discussed the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4), highlighting where we do not always LISTEN (our theme for the day) to what Jesus is trying to tell us. Then, the group began to explore the Convention Center along with the fellow 25,000 youth.
After a quick dinner, we headed to the Mass Gathering. Unlike the pageantry of Saturday night’s energy filled program, Sunday night’s Mass Event took our Gathering to a decidedly more serious tone in confronting a big question:
“How do you believe when you’re facing the unbelievable?”
Featured speaker Kellie Stocker, mother of an aspiring dancer and performer in the 2007 National Youth Gathering who was tragically killed in a car accident in June 2009 (http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/houston/stories/khou090604_tnt_pasadena-teen-killed-crash.49400d3e.html), shared a deeply personal story about her journey of putting faith into action during the “storms” that each of us face.
I’m not sure if anyone I heard anyone breathing – the Superdome was so silent during her story.
As she challenged the audience with what they would do in a similar situation Stocker told the youth, “You don’t need to have all the answers to experience God’s grace. Our God is big enough to know all your questions, and He will never love you less because of them.”
What an amazing testimony of putting one’s faith into action! She delivered an inspiring message for everyone privileged to hear it. Just over 12 months ago, she would have never thought she would be on a stage in front of 25,000 people. Yet, here she was. While clearly hurting, God’s love SHINED through her this evening! Even in my own family group, there were suggestions of wet eyes.
Beyond the sad story, her challenge remains front and center for our youth … as well as everyone. Who can say when tragedy will strike? Stocker said that her daughter’s cell phone was found in the middle of a text – the letters “T-O-M-O” was on the screen. While we sometimes plan for tomorrow, God’s plan might not have a “tomorrow” for any of us. Are we ready for that to happen to us? Are we ready if that happens to ones we love?
What a question. Our prayer is that our youth are thinking about that as they lay their heads on their pillows tonight.
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, this important message was delivered with a Redeemer flavor. Our Youth Ministry DCE, Brian Steward, was one of the producers of tonight’s 2+ hour emotional presentation. Alumni of our Youth Group are on the stage pumping the crowds up. And in one of the lighter moments of the evening, our own Abby Murin “met her match” on the main stage courtesy of illusionist Brock Gill. See the pics below! (Some courtesy of Brandon Morris.)
Monday will basically be a repeat of today’s activities with our first meeting at 9:00am. Don’t forget you can “listen” to the Twitterverse about what is going on around the Gathering (http://twitter.com/search#search?q=%23lcmsnyg) and tune into Monday evening’s Mass Event at 7:30pm CDT!
Good night, and God bless!
Youth Group Alumni Nick Dunne, Gabby Fernandez, and Crystal Loyd at the National Youth Gathering on July 18
Side view of the National Youth Gathering's Mass Event on July 18
Youth Group Alumnus Crystal Loyd "front and center" leading 25,000 in the Superdome on Sun 7/18 at the National Youth Gathering
Abby Murin with illusionist Brock Gill on the stage at the Mass Event at the National Youth Gathering (photo courtesy of Brandon Morris)
Wow!
So I lied, there were explosions here at the National Youth Gathering! The party has officially begun in New Orleans!
But I will discuss tonight’s opening Mass Gathering a bit later…
Today went really well for our group. After waking up and getting out the door, we went to the Convention Center and registered and got our LIME GREEN backpacks. All the participants here – adults and kids alike – wear these backpacks during the both the day and night events. They are obviously very visible, and everywhere we walked today we saw plenty of LIME GREEN! (And so did the natives, by the way, who have accepted us with open arms.)
After a seamless registration, we explored the city of New Orleans. Most of us ate lunch at the adjacent Riverwalk mall (where even the “mall restaurants” had delicious food!) and then walked down to the French Quarter. Parents, no worries, our group did not take any tours of Bourbon Street (although we walked across it).
Then, with the Quarter tour completed, we prepped and ate dinner at Deanie’s (www.deanies.com) before heading to the SuperDome. After waiting for nearly an hour with the throng of energetic high schoolers in the humid Louisiana evening, we finally worked our way into the Dome … and wow!
After trading one billion text messages today, my phone battery was near its end and I did not get a chance to take a lot of pictures. As of the time I’m writing this, the LCMS Gathering’s website (http://www.lcmsgathering.com/Index.asp?PageID=12786) does have some of its team’s shots up from registration today. Hopefully, more of tonight’s awesome event will be up on Sunday morning.
The event itself was as advertised, and more. A lot of energy and excitement, and our kids got into it pretty quickly! Since Brian Steward is behind the scenes with his role with the LCMS at this event, he suggested our upper deck location was a good location to have tonight to view more of the larger visual effects in the dome - including fireworks! The kids were invited to get a Bible verse sent to them for each of the next 7 days (and you can too, by texting engagelcms to 31452), and the message challenged the audience to consider what really is “truth.” I am again amazed how the LCMS can put on five of these shows – one of these would be enough work and effort to coordinate, let alone five! God be praised for this group’s tireless work!
Our youth said afterwards they thought it was bigger than they had imagined. Close your eyes, and you can see 25000+ youth and adults, arms around each other, swaying and singing along with the house band playing songs you’d commonly hear on WCIC (and some higher energy songs you might not have). Dancing and clapping into the night, our church’s youth began to realize what this is all about.
And seeing our alumni on the big screen partying it up on the big stage was a great moment unto itself!
Tomorrow, about a third of our group will be participating in a 6:30am 5k run (after a late night, of course), and then we’ll be heading to the Convention Center at 9:30am to begin the three full days of programming. After attending a Bible study at 10:30, our youth will be able to pick from a number of the LCMS’ top speakers, Christian concerts, servant opportunities, and the list goes on and on and on until the late afternoon.
And then…
Tomorrow night’s Mass Gathering will be a very special one for our Redeemer church family. As mentioned in an earlier post, Brian Steward is serving with the LCMS here in New Orleans, and he has had a significant role in planning Sunday night’s Mass Gathering. In addition to our youth group alumni who will be on the stage again, Abby Murin will be invited during the program to the main stage! Our youth group is hoping to get the VIP treatment tomorrow night with hopes of being in the front rows!
So tomorrow night is one night you shouldn’t miss. If you’re home and near a computer, point your web browser to www.lcmsgathering.com around 8pm for a chance to see Brian’s labor of love, along with Abby and our youth alumni, as well as perhaps our entire group in the crowd shots. We’re wearing the second of our matching black t-shirts, so be watching closely! And for more frequent updates, follow @GoJMo and @Stew31 on Twitter.
One last note. I hate to jinx this, but so far Redeemer family you would be super proud of your youth group if you were here to see them. Very well behaved, have been early or on time with just about all requests, and are having a fun time! Thanks for raising such wonderful and responsible young adults!
I need sleep, but I’m still pumped. Are there really only 4 of these left?
We’re here!
Good night from New Orleans! We’re heading to bed soon, but I wanted to get a chance to say thanks for the prayers, we made it to the Big Easy safely!
Tomorrow we will be heading to the Convention Center to register and get our backpacks and information. Then we will be exploring the city of New Orleans for the better part of the day, hearing jazz and seeing the French Quarter. Then tomorrow night, it’s on! The National Youth Gathering begins at 8:00pm. (You can tune in online!)
We even had a surprise visit from Brian and Nicole tonight after our dinner at the legendary Mother’s Restaurant. A good day and night, indeed!
Thanks to our friends and family back home who are praying for us! Keep ‘em coming!
Signing off tonight…
Next Up: New Orleans!
Good evening from … Peoria. Yes, not too exciting, but just wait it will be! But first, on the eve of our journey to the Bayou, I wanted to post a little “going away” message for you all. We are thankful for all of your prayers – keep them coming! Our group will leave Redeemer tomorrow morning just before 9:00am. Wow, this trip is happening! “WE BELIEVE!”
The theme for the 2010 National LCMS Youth Gathering is “WE BELIEVE,” based on John 20:31: “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Amen!
But as the most technologically advanced generation of kids begin their travels to the most technologically advanced Youth Gathering the LCMS’ history approaches, we’re on top of the action. Who says we midwesterners are behind the times?
- Live web streaming? We’ve got it. Check out the Gathering’s official website, www.lcmsgathering.com, to find a link to the action live from the Superdome in New Orleans each night starting at 7:30pm CDT (on Wednesday, it will be at 8:30am CDT).
- Blogs? We’re on it. Keep this page in your bookmarks, and we’ll do our best each day to chronicle the previous day and highlight the coming day’s events. Especially for you parents, we want to keep you as close to your kids as possible! We will post a message tomorrow night upon our arrival, but generally we will do our best to leave a message on here during each morning until the day we come back. Thoughts, reflections, and wonders.
- Twitter? What? We have Twitter, too? Well, yes. I have a Twitter account (@GoJMo) that I will be posting to multiple times each day (including progress on our trip to and from New Orleans). I will be with our kids and will try to share with you what they’re seeing. Also, our Youth Ministry DCE Brian Steward has his Twitter account (@Stew31) and will be sharing tidbits behind the scenes. Finally, @LCMSNYG is the official LCMS account, and they’re sharing stuff hourly it seems! (The cool thing about Twitter is you can read all of the posts by everyone who is writing about the Gathering. I’m no expert, but even I figured out how to do this – just search for #LCMSNYG while on Twitter, and you will read everyone’s posts who include the tag #LCMSNYG in their posts! Pretty cool to read about the excitement level around the country from adults and kids making their way to Louisiana!)
- Text messages? Well, maybe not as much. Parents, we’re asking the kids to keep their phone texting to a minimum during the week, so we hope you’ll support us. If you send a text to your kids during the Bible studies and Mass Gathering events … don’t freak out if they don’t get back to you right away. We asked them to do that! The adults on the trip all have text capability though so if you need one of us, feel free to call or text.
Having been privileged to participate in the 2007 National Youth Gathering in Orlando gives me some perspective on what these events are all about. There are really two halves of each day – daylight and nighttime. During each day, the kids will be able to explore a vast convention center that will have everything - indoor sports, booths sharing info for Christian schools, awesome Christian speakers, live concerts, servant events - you name it and it’s there! And each night, the 25,000+ students and adults come together to worship in a contemporary setting where the production is on par with any rock concert you’ve been to – multiple big screen tv’s, live bands, choirs, orchestras, explosions (well, maybe not explosions). To put even a one day event together like this would require an unbelievable amount of coordination and planning. And these crazies invite us to the Big Easy for FIVE? It is truly amazing and a blessing to these kids! Praise be to God for this opportunity!
Speaking of planning and coordination, it might not be widely known that our church will be well represented in the Mass Gatherings each night! First, several of our college-aged High School Youth Group alumni are volunteering and will be on-stage during the nightly events! (If you tune in to any of the webcasts, you’re likely to see a face you’ll recognize.) Additionally, our very own Brian Steward has been lucky enough to be part of this massive planning effort over the last few months with the LCMS, as he has had a substantial role in choreographing and producing the Sunday evening Mass Gathering. Our “34″ (28 kids and 6 adults) will enjoy the fruits of Brian’s labor, as we’re promised to have terrific up-close seats for that evening’s Mass Gathering! We can’t wait! We thank God for Brian and his service to the LCMS (as well as our congregation)!
Well, it’s about 12 hours until we pull away from 6801 North Allen Road to begin our little adventure (and now officially less than 48 hours until the start of the 2010 National Youth Gathering on Saturday night). Maybe I should start packing?
God bless your week!
Let the Gathering Begin!
Either by planes, trains, or automobiles, it is expected that 25,000 youth from all over the world will be traveling to New Orleans this week for the LCMS National Youth Gathering! 36 youth and adults from Redeemer will be making the journey to NOLA to join in the celebration. In addition, 6 of our college youth will have the opportunity to volunteer their time and will be serving in an up-front, on-stage capacity in the “Mass Events”.
The Gathering will be a unique and special time of praise and service to God. During the day youth will have opportunities to explore God’s Word as well as many different fellowship and service activities. And, during the evenings, all 25,000 people will assemble in the Louisiana Super Dome for ”Mass Events” which will be an evening of prayer and praise, culminating in a Worship Service on Tuesday night where the Lord’s Supper will be celebrated!
This will be a mountain-top experience in the faith for all of the attendees. We pray that the Lord grants safe travel and works in mighty and powerful ways in and through each participant. We will keep you updated as the Gathering progresses and we will come back to Redeemer and share with you all of the “Unbelievable” stuff that the Lord did!
God’s Peace to you… And… Let the Gathering Begin!