-Sierra Ronning

I’m Sierra Ronning, and I am very excited to join the ELCA Youth Gathering team in Communication and Administration. I have a BA in Multimedia from California Lutheran University, I worked in TV production for a year, followed by work in youth ministry for three years. I couldn’t have dreamed of a position that combines all of my experiences.

I had my first Gathering experience in 2006. I was a volunteer with Service Learning in San Antonio, and that was such an experience. The energy was contagious. Everywhere I went, someone was hugging a stranger or offering a high five—there was nothing but smiles and an immense love for this community. In 2015, I experienced what it takes to take youth to the Gathering. The stresses of fundraising, preparing the group for what to expect, assuring parents that their children will be safe, figuring out how to feed a group of 20 in a packed city… it’s a lot of work. Once we got to Detroit and I saw how my youth were engaging, growing, and just having the time of their lives, I knew this would be an experience none of us would ever forget.

The 2018 Gathering in Houston will be another life-changing experience for a new group of youth, adults, volunteers, and staff. Know that the stresses that come with it are all worth it. I’m excited to be supporting this ministry in a new way, and I’m looking forward to connecting with everyone involved. See y’all in Houston!

– Molly Beck Dean

We are excited to share with you the theme for the 2018 Gathering, “This Changes Everything.” Our primary scripture is Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Grace is a foundational part of Lutheran theology. This gift of grace, undeserved and freely given, changes lives and perspectives as people realize they are enough. We are enough because of what Christ has done for us, and we are called into the world to serve our neighbor and to share the good news.

Our logo is a visual representation of our theme and the 2018 Gathering experience. It incorporates the coming together of a mosaic to reflect the diverse host city of Houston. It also incorporates the idea that we are a church where all are imperfect and incomplete, yet we each belong and have an important place in God’s masterpiece. The cross at the center of the logo is the focus—it is God’s grace, through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, that changes everything for all people.

In her book “Woo: Awakening Teenagers’ Desire to Follow in the Way of Jesus,” Morgan Schmidt identifies the three central desires of teens.

All youth desire:

• someone to become
• somewhere to belong
• something to do [that changes the world]

As young people struggle to find someone to become, somewhere to belong, and something to do, the Gathering seeks to be a ministry that helps define some of that, or at least open up pathways of discovery. Ultimately, we want youth to understand the fierce love that God has for them just as they are, and that by grace, through faith, they have been saved. When young people (or a person of any age) truly claims this reality, it indeed changes everything.

We look forward to diving deeply into this theme with you in the months to come!

– Nicole Kiefer

When I think back to the 2015 Gathering in Detroit, I often think of a huge “Jesus Week” with 35,000 of my closest friends. There are many moments and experiences that I will not forget.

Out of all of the experiences there is one moment that I still remember to this day. This particular moment happened my first night at Ford Field. People from other churches and I were waiting for our buses. For some particular reason we all just started hugging and high fiving everyone that was leaving Ford Field. We hugged and high fived hundreds of people from all over the place, and it was truly amazing. I could definitely feel Jesus throughout that whole experience because it was so touching. From that moment on, I knew that we were in Detroit to make a difference.

I truly believe in my heart that the ministry of the Gathering is important because it opens your eyes to the world, to the love of Jesus Christ, and to the community of the ELCA. It has truly changed my faith journey, and I am a different person because of the Gathering. I have a new energetic spirit for Jesus and for the ELCA. I became more involved with my church, the ELCA, and even took more of an interest in majoring in religion in college.

To this day, I do not stop talking about the Gathering, the experiences I had there, and how it changed me. I was so blessed to have this be a part of my faith journey, and I would like to say, “Thank you so much, Detroit.”

Amen.

– Eric Carlson

I attended my first ELCA Youth Gathering in Dallas in 1991 – check out the fanny pack and rolled up jean shorts. The theme was “Called to Freedom,” and the main stage highlighted Maya Angelou, Tony Campolo, and the Jay Beech Band. I was an adult leader for a group formed of several congregations sponsored through Lutheran Lakeside Camp in Spirit Lake, Iowa. We all showed up as complete strangers the morning we departed for Dallas, and we returned transformed. Sure, long bus rides across the country help people connect—but it was the power of the Gathering that made us more like family.

I have had the opportunity to attend seven of the ten ELCA Youth Gatherings. As I think about all of them, there are three consistent themes.

The Gathering:

• proclaims the good news of God’s love made known to us in Jesus in amazing and powerful ways,
• provides a unique setting for faith formation of young people, and
• stretches participants beyond their comfort zones as we are set free to love and serve our neighbor.

I am very excited to be one of the Team Leaders for the 2018 Gathering. I get to work with an awesome group of people who are planning Synod Day. Synod Day is one of the rotation program days when participants meet as a synod for worship, Bible study, learning, and more. The bishop of your synod appoints a Synod Day Director who is responsible for implementing the curriculum and worship experience for your synod.

The mission of the Gathering is to provide faith formation with high school age youth. Synod Day provides yet another opportunity for participants to connect God’s amazing story in geographical groupings that assist in translating the Gathering experience to their home context.

The planning team for Synod Day is working hard on your behalf to provide the best opportunity for you in Houston. I can’t wait to see you in 2018!

Pastor Eric Carlson lives in Des Moines, IA with his wife, Beth, and their two teenage children, Greta and Benjamin. They are members of Faith Lutheran in Clive, IA. Eric serves as the Assistant to the Bishop in the Southeastern Iowa Synod.

– Bishop Michael Rinehart

Forty years ago, I was 15 years old when I attended my first national gathering. In 1976, the All-Lutheran Youth Gathering, For All the Saints, brought together ALC, LCA, and LCMS youth at the brand new (opened in 1975) New Orleans Superdome. A member of our youth group was baptized in the Superdome at that event.

The gatherings have changed over the years, then and now, but I can still feel the energy and anticipation of that event, as well as the fun of meeting people from all over the country. It strengthened my faith and gave me a sense of the scope of this church. It is one of the reasons I am a pastor and bishop today.

You can imagine how excited I am to welcome 30,000 of you to the Bayou City, where I now serve as bishop. The 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering will gather at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the U.S. We will sing, pray, learn, and serve together.

Houston is named after Sam Houston, once the President of the Republic of Texas, when Texas was a country. Sam Houston then brought Texas into the Union, becoming a senator, then governor. He opposed secession and lost his job because of it.

Houston is a big city with a big heart. Houston has no racial majority as the most multicultural city in the U.S. Houston has been working hard to battle homelessness in a significant way. Home to Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston has sent people to the moon.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that the blessing of the event will be in the relationships. Friends and strangers will make this event something you will remember for the rest of your life.

I’ll see you in Houston in 2018!

Rev. Michael Rinehart is Bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, a community of over one hundred congregations, campus ministries, retreat centers, and other agencies. 

– Tammy Jones West

Hello Gathering world!

My name is Tammy Jones West, and it is a joy and privilege to serve as the Operations Team Leader. Not a team you’ve heard of before? Well, that’s a good thing. Operations work is behind the scenes. Our task is to make sure that all the other Team Leaders have the space and things they need to make their magic happen. We take care of the master schedule, space assignments, team offices, feeding volunteers, cool team shirts, all signage around the city/venues… and we even keep up with the bishops. It’s the details, and I truly don’t believe that the devil is in the details. God is in the details because God is active, moving, and up to something in Houston. God is also up to something in each of the congregations that sends youth to the Gathering.

I am honored to serve the North Carolina Synod as Director of Leadership and Discipleship. For 22 years, I have watched the ELCA Youth Gathering have a lasting impact on congregations, adult advisors, and youth from my synod. This ministry matters, and it is one of the best public examples of serving Christ. Detroit thought we wouldn’t really show up… and we did. We’ll show up in Houston and engage with a city that is so wonderfully diverse—we will be changed.

A shout out of appreciation to those adult advisors out there who are also thinking and worrying about the details. You’ve got this. You can do it. You matter in the lives of our young people. Thank you for taking part in this important ministry.

Our team will work hard on the details, so you can experience the Gathering to the fullest. Blessings to you on this journey. We’re here for you.