Covenant News

Mission Outreach Event Draws 300 Youth, Adults

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (April 18, 2002) - Nearly 300 youth and adults participated in a Northwest Conference-sponsored youth event entitled "Mission Outreach Venture and Experience (MOVE) 2002" at First Covenant Church April 12-14.

More than 30 Covenant churches were part of the weekend program, which included worship, service projects and fellowship. Wendy Sorvik, conference director of congregational services, coordinated the event, which has been in existence since 1994.

On Friday, participants worshiped at First Covenant and guest speakers Jamey and Edwinna Johnson challenged students to go beyond their comfort zone in order to minister to those in need. The Johnsons are from First Covenant Church in St. Paul, where Jamey is the youth pastor.

On Saturday, students spoke about their community outreach experiences during morning worship and then youth groups were taken to various ministry sites in the Twin Cities. Some visited ministries related to denominational churches, including First Covenant and Elim Covenant Church of St. Paul and Community Covenant Church in Minneapolis. Others performed acts of service for other ecumenical organizations - some provided childcare for a daycare ministry, worked at a senior citizen's home and moved furniture for a Catholic service organization in Minneapolis.

"I think it's a great way to gather high school kids from all over our conference, getting them all together and having the same focus," said Sorvik, who has coordinated the event for three years. "And we really hope that this extends within their own communities, not just the Twin Cities."

Churches from Sioux Falls and Fargo, North Dakota, attended as did many youth groups from churches throughout Minnesota. Northwest Conference administrators who attended MOVE 2002 included Sorvik, Jon Kramka, director of church missions, and Mark Stromberg, director of church development. The eight-member MOVE 2002 committee included youth pastors and pastors throughout the conference.

For more information, call Sorvik at 612-721-4893 or email her at wendy@nwc-cov.org.

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