“God is trying to help people, our job is to be God’s Ambassadors.”
That didn’t come from a pastor or a church leader.
These are wise words from Bridget Allyn, a rising 8th grader who came from Our Saviour Lutheran Church to the annual Junior High Servant Event held July 27-Aug. 1 in Virginia Beach.
For the past five years, middle school students from all over the Virginia Synod have come together for a week in July to serve others and grow deeper in their own Faith.
The event is hosted at Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Virginia Beach where Pastor Scott Mims is the co-pastor.
The kickoff for the event on Monday helped the students gain a new perspective. The 35 participants—youth and adults—walked 9 miles through the streets of the city, to simulate what it would be like to be homeless for a day.The walk was led by People In Need (PIN), a homeless ministry in Virginia Beach.
Before embarking on their journey, the students heard from Michael, a homeless man who has been blessed by PIN. Through the rest of week the participants gleaned 4,800 lbs of corn and 900 lbs of peaches for the Society of St. Andrews, they cleaned horse stalls at a therapeutic riding center and they volunteered at Mojo, a children’s thrift store.
Andre’ and Eric Knocklein from Good Shepherd Lutheran are twin brothers that moved to Virginia Beach from South Africa a few years ago. This event gave them both a chance to get to know Americ
a a little better.
“I have learned that there is a lot of need in this country,” Andre’ said.
“I think that this is a good event because we are serving God and helping people get their essentials,” Eric added.
At the end of each day everyone would load up and head back to Good Shepard where they gathered in their mission groups to discuss the highs and lows of each day. These small group settings were a great place to draw the connection between their faith and serving others.
“My hope is that their faith will become real,” Pastor Mims said. “It’s not just about stories and going to church. I hope they will see that our faith is about touching the lives of people and that it makes a difference. As we serve and help people I think the spirit touches our lives as well.
While the main draw of this event was service (and perhaps the beach), building an intentional Christian community was also a goal of the planning team. Hunter Seningen, a rising 9th grader from Culpeper, Va. noticed how serving others can bring people together.
“We came in as separate groups from separate societies, as I look around now I see one giant community that has come together, “Hunter said. “We can all pull together in one faith.”
To see pictures from the event, click here.
