– Tara Gilbert

I had the amazing opportunity to attend two Gatherings as an adult leader with our youth group at Trinity Lutheran in Marysville, Ohio: San Antonio and Detroit. There are many places where I saw Jesus at work as I reflect upon my Gathering experiences.

The biggest places I saw Jesus at work were where we witnessed to, fellowshipped with, and served those in need.  While in San Antonio, I was placed at a retired military assisted living facility where we did yard work and fellowshipped with the residents. I truly was able to see Christ at work in our youth as they did yard work in 95 degree heat without complaining, and then fellowshipped with and asked questions of a retired military general.  I was able to see God at work in our youth as they showed appreciation and respect for our elders and shared Scripture with them.

While in Detroit, my group was placed at a homeless shelter for families that had struggled and were trying to gain a second chance in life.  While  there, a bishop from Minnesota and I helped improve the facility by painting the walls in the facility and in the residents’ rooms.  I saw Jesus in every stroke that we painted as we fellowshipped with one another and with the families as they walked by us.  I saw Jesus in the kids’ smiles as we ate lunch with them and learned that everyone deserves a second chance.  Our youth learned that just because you have had a hard time in your life, that you can strive to be strong again.  The families there taught me to appreciate all the moments of life.

One of the other places where I saw Jesus at work was in worship.  I could not help but be brought to tears as I witnessed 30,000 youth praising our Lord through song and listening to speakers share their faith.  Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”  As an adult, I have been inspired by these worships services to continue growing in my faith and to have my eyes opened to the different ministry needs all over our country.  Jesus can use all of us to better the kingdom.  I saw our youth grow together as one community as we sang, laughed, cried, and read Scripture together.

It all comes down to the cross, as we are reminded at the Gatherings with the big colorful cross on the stage, displayed for all to see.

I saw Jesus everywhere through these Gatherings, and I can’t help but smile as I think about Houston.

Tara Gilbert is a member at Trinity Lutheran, Marysville, Ohio

– Sessen Stephanos

I first found out about MYLE in 2012. My youth director, Brianna pitched the idea to me when I was 14 and I was adamant that I did not want to attend. Looking back on it, I think my attitude towards it was rooted in fear. Fear of acknowledging that my experience as a first generation African-American woman was different from many of my peers at school and at church. I did not attend MYLE in 2012, but the feeling lingered over the next few years. By the time 2015 came around, I was 17 and had just graduated high school. When Bri asked me this time, I said yes. I had spent a lot of time researching about race relations in the United States and I was ready to explore my identity that I had spent so much time trying to suppress.

MYLE definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. It was a drastically new experience for me.

I think the biggest thing that I took away from MYLE is that our differences are not something that should be ignored. So often I hear people say things like “I don’t see race” or “I don’t see color,” and while those statements come from a well intentioned places, I think it in some ways they are still invalidating. Being black is part of who I am, being from Ethiopia is part of who I am. It is not all that I am, but it is a lens through which I see the world and experience God.

MYLE helped show me that different communities and cultures feel God’s love and express it in different ways.

I was surrounded by people who had really similar upbringings and also drastically different ones. MYLE gave me the opportunity to engage in some of the most honest discussions about topics that I never really thought I would be able to have in my faith communities, and it was a really valuable and precious experience.

– Matt Staniz

One of the biggest ways that I have seen the Gathering transform the lives of young people is by inspiring them to become generous disciples who care about the needs of others and find ways to respond. This radical generosity has taken root among Gathering participants at Saint Luke Lutheran Church in Devon, Pennsylvania.

In fact, it has reshaped the way we prepare for our time together with 30,000 Lutheran friends.

As a congregation situated among well-to-do communities in suburban Philadelphia, God reminds us that we have the ability—and the responsibility—to make sure that all of our neighbors experience the same opportunities that we might take for granted.

Because the Gathering is among the greatest opportunities that the young people of Saint Luke have, we know that we are called to extend the ministry of the Gathering to others. As soon as we figure out how much it will cost for our group to fully experience the Gathering, we increase our fundraising goal by enough to give away ten percent of everything we raise. Trusting in God, we contribute most of our pledge to our synod office from the very first dollars we raise so that young people from other communities can register for the Gathering.

In 2015, we also began saving some money for an additional special gift. After returning home, our young people discussed what they discovered during the Gathering and they decided together how God was leading them to use what they had left. The conversations were incredible and important, and the continued impact of the gifts are felt not just by those who receive them, but also by our group. This empowers them to not only be thoughtful stewards of God’s gifts, but also to think deeply about how being a generous disciple impacts their neighbor and the world.

It allows the Gathering to continue to change our lives as we live out God’s amazing and abundant grace!

– Chris Clay

Hello, I’m Chris Clay. I’m a lifelong Lutheran, born in Chicago. I grew up and spent most of my life in Atlanta.

I served at five of the last six Gatherings. In 2000, I “Danced at the Crossroads” in St. Louis, performing concerts with my band. In 2003, I was in my hometown of Atlanta to “Do Life” or “Ubuntu.” I was a member of the House Band in 2009 for “Jesus, Justice, Jazz” in New Orleans.  I was back in N’awlins in 2012 where we celebrated being “Citizens With the Saints.” I also served as a member of the House Band and as worship leader for “Practice Peacemaking” Day. In 2015, I served as the House Band Music Director in Detroit guiding the community to “Rise Up, Together.” Creating music for the Gatherings has been one of the greatest joys and honors in my life.

Each Gathering has been a beautiful place where I’ve created friendships and relationships with SO MANY people… people from different places, all walks of life, all colors, all generations. But here’s the BEST thing—even though there are vast differences and delightful diversity—there is an overwhelming sameness and oneness that I feel… and I hope YOU feel it, too.

We come together and share a common faith.
We come together and serve an AWESOME God by serving others.
We come together to listen and learn.
We come together to sing and dance.
We come together to WORSHIP and PRAISE!

One of my favorite praise songs I’m listening to right now is called “Spirit, Break Out” by William McDowell. A lyric in the chorus describes what I see, feel, and hear at the nightly mass gatherings:

Our Father, all of heaven roars your name,
Sing louder—let this place erupt in PRAISE …
Can you hear it?
The sound of HEAVEN TOUCHING EARTH!
The sound of HEAVEN TOUCHING EARTH!

THAT IS IT!  That’s what the Gathering has been for me—the sound of Heaven Touching Earth.