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Seven new young adult short-term teams ready to serve
MOUNT JOY, Pa. – Sunday evening, September 9, the sanctuary of Mount Joy Mennonite Church was jam-packed with six hundred people to commission 36 short-term participants, the largest training of recent years – plus several new Harrisburg Discipleship Center staff. Six of the teams of young adults are serving with Eastern Mennonite Missions in the YES (Youth Evangelism Service) program, and one team will serve with Brethren in Christ World Missions’ STEP program. Through this partnership, STEP participants will also train at HDC along with the other YES participants. Three additional young adults were commissioned as one-year volunteers at the Harrisburg Discipleship Center (HDC),
Training for participants occurs at HDC, but because this training group was so large, EMM rented additional space (a nearby house in Harrisburg) for seven of the males. With the extra load of being short two volunteer HDC staff*, this has meant that HDC staff are feeling the strain. But “too many” participants is a good problem to have. “I’m all for big trainings,” center administrator Chris Epp says with a smile. HDC is located in inner-city Harrisburg, where it can be a much-needed light for the neighborhood.
Mike Ford, youth minister for Franconia Conference, participated in the YES program in his younger years. When Ford returned now as the speaker, he arrived early, during the parent-participant orientation. He says, “I saw a bunch of wide-eyed kids getting ready for YES – then I went to the other room, and saw a bunch of wide-eyed parents getting ready to let them go. I’ve been there!” He entertained everyone with photos of himself as a YES participant in the 1980s – “Look, I have an afro there. That’s not coming back!”
Ford also challenged the group that following the way of Jesus involves being a servant – the Greek word that is often used can even mean “slave.” Mike summed up, “True service is a lifetime of sacrifice.”
The teams will live at HDC studying discipleship, service, and cross-cultural sensitivity, and then at the end of November will depart for the Balkans, the Himalayas, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Israel, Venezuela, and Honduras. They will serve overseas for five to eight months before returning for post-field training.
Ryan Showalter, director of Discipleship Ministries (Eastern Mennonite Missions’ short-term department), says, “We look forward to seeing transformation in their lives during training and outreach. We also look forward to seeing the transformation in those they meet on their assignments – as God’s good news overflows from participants’ lives.”
The next YES teams are planned for Suriname, Kenya, and Central Asia, beginning in January 2008. For information about serving, visit emm.org or contact Sherrie Ober at 717 898-2251.
- Kenton Glick is EMM media producer.
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