Stories

M.O.V.E. 2010 draws 350 students to downtown Minneapolis for weekend of service, learning

On April 9-10, 350 students and youth workers from throughout the Northwest Conference converged on First Covenant Church in Minneapolis, MN, for M.O.V.E. 2010-a weekend of teaching, worship, service and experiential learning. This year’s theme was taken from Micah 6:8:”Act Justly…Walk Humbly…Love Mercy.”

The weekend kicked off with a worship service that featured praise music, spoken word, and a challenging message from Efrem Smith, pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis. Before bedding down in sleeping bags throughout the church building, the students spent time with their youth groups preparing for the next day’s experiences.

On Saturday morning, youth groups fanned out to 22 different agencies and ministry sites across the Twin Cities for three hours of service, which ranged from lawn care and clean-up projects, to playing with kids, to the  restocking of thrift centers and distribution warehouse supply shelves, to spending time serving at homeless shelters.

Upon returning to the church, the students participated in a Global Lunch Experience, which was designed to illustrate the disparities of wealth and food across the globe. A small fraction of the students received a full-service, multi-course meal with fine linen and table service. Another portion of the students were served a more basic, but still filling meal at tables. The bulk of the students received a small portion of beans and rice, warm water, and were all seated in mass on the floor.

Following lunch, youth groups participated in an Issues Tour where groups rotated through three presentations entitled, “The Immigrant Journey: The story and choices of a Somali refugee,” “The Culture of Poverty From a Local Perspective” and “Sankofa: Looking Back, Looking Forward at Cultural Patterns of Discrimination.” M.O.V.E. 2010 concluded with another powerful worship session and message from Pastor Efrem.

M.O.V.E. 2010 once again lived up to our expectation that participants would have their worldview expanded, be inspired as God’s Kingdom workforce in the world, and to have opportunity to extend the hope and love of Christ with those experiencing unmet needs.

Visit the Children, Youth and Family media page to see a video and photo gallery from the event.