NYG 2019: LCC Youth Find Their Worth in Christ

by Michelle Heumann

From July 5-9, 2019, approximately 250 youth, leaders, and volunteers gathered at the beautiful campus of Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. for the eleventh Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) National Youth Gathering (NYG). The theme was based on Romans 5:8, encouraging participants to find their worth in Jesus. A common phrase repeated during the sessions and the accompanying Bible studies was “You are worth nothing less than the precious blood of Jesus.”

Rev. Glenn Worcester was the main session speaker. Despite the large group, he was able to have the youth participate in sessions using a website called Menti, that allowed them to use their phones to respond to his questions. Their answers scrolled across the screen at the front of the room, giving everyone a chance to provide input on the various questions Rev. Worcester asked, like “Who are you?” and “What makes you feel worthy?”

The five main sessions were titled “What do you say you’re worth?”, “What is God’s worth to you?”, “What does the world say you’re worth?”, “What does God say you’re worth?”, and “Telling the world what they’re worth.” Rev. Worcester shared personal stories and encouraged the youth to find their worth in Jesus, and the accompanying Bible studies examined the book of Jonah, connecting with the themes of the main sessions. “God’s message to you is that you are worth dying for,” wrote Rev. Worcester after the fourth session, connecting the story of God’s message to Nineveh through Jonah to Jesus’ message for the world. The small group Bible studies, divided by age, are an important opportunity for youth to meet each other and to discuss the content of the main sessions, ask questions, and apply it to their own lives.

God’s message to you is that you are worth dying for.

Main sessions also included music by local group Fall7, from Walnut Grove Lutheran Church; the shenanigans and announcements of emcees Ben Drung and Rev. Scott Brayall; and American comedian group These Guys, who have been regulars at recent National Youth Gatherings, providing some comic relief in the form of skits and other humour.

While NYGs usually revolve around the main sessions, the youth also participate in worship services everyday: Morning and Evening Prayer led by the chaplain, Rev. Scott Gamble, and Sunday worship with members from Walnut Grove Lutheran, who travelled to campus just for that morning. Many of the pastors participated in the Sunday Communion service in a variety of roles, including Rev. Gamble and Rev. James Paulgaard as liturgists and LCC President Timothy Teuscher as preacher. West Regional Pastor Robert Mohns, Rev. Worcester, Rev. Brayall, Rev. Brian Falkenholt, and Rev. Eric Moffett also assisted with the service.

Other activities included: breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics from pop culture to creation to song writing; games including Frisbee baseball, crab ball, and capture the flag; excursions to Grouse Mountain and a local beach; and servant events ranging from a beach cleanup to assisting at an urban mission project to uprooting invasive plants.

There were also several opportunities for youth leaders to be equipped and encouraged. Rev. Dr. John Oberdeck came specifically to offer two sessions for leaders. Those who attended his session were given a copy of a brand-new publication called 7 Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry, provided by the Youth Ministry department of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. There was also a youth leaders’ round table, hosted by the NYG and the IMPACT Youth Gathering (formerly the ABC District Gathering), which gave leaders a chance to discuss their joys and struggles, and to encourage one another. They also discussed youth gathering logistics, including timing of when to hold them, and the benefits of gatherings. There is a clear desire for more training and resources to be made available to LCC youth leaders, and a great appreciation for the community and support found at the NYG.

One leader spoke strongly about the importance of gatherings in giving youth role models, and especially in giving boys strong male role models. The part pastors play in gatherings is very important—from encouraging their congregations to prioritize youth ministry to attending in person to offer teaching, prayer, and counsel. At the gathering, Bible study groups are led by the youth leaders who then have an opportunity to spend time teaching and getting to know youth from other congregations while youth have the opportunity to learn from church leaders they might not otherwise meet.

A gathering is a unique opportunity for youth to connect with the larger church and grow in the faith. Even if a congregation doesn’t have a youth group that meets regularly—especially if a congregation doesn’t have a youth group!—a gathering is the perfect opportunity to help connect young people to the church. Lutheran Church–Canada is a wonderful community of believers, and members are never too young to start building those connections. Many adults in leadership today credit the community they found and the teaching they received at gatherings with helping them remain in the church and grow into the roles they now have.

In his sermon at the closing worship service, Rev. Gamble recounted his first youth gathering experience at Yörkin Börkin Tü in 1998, saying: “People shouldn’t underestimate the importance of youth gatherings” when considering ways to connect young people with the church, and to keep them connected. He attended as many gatherings and youth retreats as possible, and credits them with teaching him that “I was dearly loved and saved by the Creator of the universe,” and for giving him a place where he “built relationships and connections with brothers and sisters in Christ that encouraged and sustained me through those tough, awkward years of being a teenager, and into young adulthood and even still today. Some of those people I met over the years are here today, and I count them as the dearest friends, mentors, and family I have.”

NYG co-chair Lisa Olding speculated at breakfast one day about “how many future pastors, Lutheran teachers, and youth leaders were sitting in that cafeteria with their youth group enjoying their first NYG. Perhaps even the future co-chair of an NYG was there enjoying the scrambled eggs with their friends.” A huge benefit to having gatherings like this is the fellowship, and “while connecting the church body from coast to coast is just one reason why we have NYGs, I believe it is so important for our youth and leaders to know they are part of a larger group. The relationships that were formed over those five days in July will continue to impact many of the youth and leaders throughout their lives.” Six of the ten planning committee members attended gatherings as youth, as did many of the other volunteers who were there as youth leaders, iBods, and committee support volunteers.

The relationships that were formed over those five days in July will continue to impact many of the youth and leaders throughout their lives.

Another important aspect of a gathering is giving the youth a safe place to ask questions about hard topics. Topics the youth asked about in breakout sessions included evolution, carbon-14 dating, dinosaurs, sexuality in general and LBGTQ-related issues in particular, the authority of Scripture and the accuracy of the Old Testament, mental health, and a range of theology-related topics. The National Youth Gathering provides time for youth and leaders to talk over a meal or between sessions about things they might otherwise never get a chance to discuss in the business of life at home. As one youth leader put it, a gathering is like a vacation “for your soul,” providing opportunities to be spiritually rejuvenated that might not be found anywhere else.

A rejuvenating experience like a national youth gathering doesn’t happen without a very long list of people to thank, and the committee designated two pages in the gathering booklet to do just that. The youth were also encouraged to submit thank you notes through Menti, and they submitted nearly 200 expressions of thanks, including to the committee, presenters, each other, and their leaders. Special thanks to FaithLife Financial, Lutheran Hour Ministries, LWML-Canada, and all the congregations and individuals who financially supported the gathering in order to keep the registration fee as low as possible.

Now that the 2019 NYG has been successfully completed, the hope is to hold the next NYG in July 2021, to avoid conflicting with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod National Youth Gathering. Plans will be confirmed in the coming months when a new committee is in place.

In a wrap-up letter to gathering participants, Rev. Gamble and Rev. Worcester summed up the theme of the NYG by writing: “Our worth, value, cost is nothing less than the price of Jesus’ life, which He paid in His death and resurrection… You are not worthless, and if you ever doubt that, look to the cross.”

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Michelle Heumann is Regional News Editor for The Canadian Lutheran magazine. Photo credits: Chanel Chursinoff.

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