Go:Serve 2018 offers ‘crash course’ on culture and ministry in Twin Cities
In its fifth year, Go:Serve was held Thursday, June 21, in partnership with the ECC Annual Meeting, called Gather. Sixty+ participants, ages 5 and up, met at Sanctuary Covenant Church in North Minneapolis, for a crash course on culture and ministry in the Twin Cities.
From there, participants loaded onto a bright yellow coach bus (courtesy of Richfield Bus, who transports our high schoolers to CHIC) for a short ride to South Minneapolis, where we learned about Bethlehem Covenant Church’s partnership with Ace in the City. Launched in one of the most diverse neighborhoods on the planet, Ace in the City builds community through relationships. Go:Serve participants learned about their ministry, then helped create backpack tags for children who will benefit from Ace’s back-to-school backpack drive, held later in the summer.
From Bethlehem, participants walked four blocks down the road to observe and to pray for Minnehaha Academy, a PreK-12 school that is a ministry of the Northwest Conference. Minnehaha’s Upper School was devastated by an explosion last summer that destroyed much of the building, injured many, and two employees lost their lives. You can read more about Minnehaha here: http://www.minnehahaacademy.net.
After the prayer walk, participants hopped back on the bus to head to Hmong Village for lunch. Hmong Village is the largest Hmong-owned and operated indoor shopping mall/market in the cities, and possibly the world. Participants enjoyed a variety of foods, including pho, tri-color drink (nab vam), stuffed chicken wings, papaya salad, Hmong sausage and purple sticky rice.
With full bellies and many stories to tell, participants rode the bus 5 minutes down the road to First Covenant Church in St. Paul to learn about the refugee experience in Minnesota, hosted by Arrive Ministries. In the midst of a difficult time in our country, Arrive is committed to providing top-notch resettlement services and compassionate care for displaced refugees, immigrants and asylees who now call Minnesota home. We were grateful for the chance to dialogue about practical ways to partner with those who are trying to build a new life for themselves and their children after fleeing difficult circumstances.
Overall, it was a good day! Children and adults left with much to ponder about how Christians can engage with the world around them, starting with learning about the needs of others, and then dreaming about how to serve those in our communities in Jesus’ name. Maybe your church could envision hosting a Go:Serve-type event in your community?
