-Michael Deisting

Hi! My name is Michael, and when I’m not enjoying Chicago’s spectacular summers (I live in denial about the winters) or dreaming of where I might travel next, you can probably find me working alongside Donna and Molly in the Gathering office. This will be my third cycle with the Gathering, and I love what I get to do because I love this ministry. Here are 8 reasons why:

1. This ministry is always changing. The Spirit’s creative wisdom inspires planners, and we get to dream about the endless possibilities. No two Gatherings are exactly the same; no two days in the Gathering office are the same either.
2. The Gathering is BIG. Even as a self-identified introvert, there is just something that makes me awestruck every time I see the swarms of young people filing into the stadium for mass Gatherings. God is present everywhere, but the Spirit is present in a special way when 30,000ish Lutheran friends descend on a city.
3. We have SO MUCH FUN! Okay, yes, those 5 days are also a little exhausting, but it’s totally worth it. We love Jesus, and we love to have a good time.
4. We get to do some pretty cool things that can only happen at a Gathering—like collecting more than a million diapers (#RiseUpELCA). Our sheer size allows us to do so much together.
5. I always fall in love with our host city, especially the people. I know many others do too. Detroit and New Orleans captured my heart, and Houston is quickly capturing it too. We have already met some incredible Houstonians—be sure to introduce yourself in 2018.
6. Volunteers, planning teams, and partners are the backbone of the Gathering. This church is made up of remarkable people doing extraordinary things to share the Gospel, and it is the greatest delight getting to know many of them.
7. Our young people are energetic, hopeful, and faith-filled, and they fill me with those same characteristics. Anyone who talks about the decline or death of the church hasn’t been to a Gathering.
8. There is nothing else like the Gathering, and nothing our church does even comes close to it. It is like a service trip-music festival-faith formation convention-synod gathering-youth group outing all rolled into one giant Jesus party. I can’t wait until we celebrate together in 2018!

My love and passion for the ministry of the ELCA Youth Gathering goes far beyond the eight reasons above, but they limited my word count for this blog post and I’m already over (#oops #notsorry). So instead of me continuing, I invite you to share why you love the Gathering! Tweet us or comment on our Facebook page. Peace friends.

Michael Deisting works as the Gathering Program Associate.

-Deaconess Kristen Baltrum

There is nothing quite like watching the face of a teenager light up in wonder, especially when that face is lighting up because they have just walked into a stadium full of people, who like them have gathered together for five days of service, learning, and worship – the ELCA Youth Gathering.

That look is why I ride the bus for three days to get there. That look gives me the opportunity to say, “See? I told you; you aren’t alone.” And then together we spend five days unpacking that look – what it means, why it matters, and are assured of our place in this church, both the young person and myself.

It is the power of Christ present in the larger church that lights up the faces of the teens who experience the Gathering. While I absolutely believe that Christ is present where only two or three are gathered, or even if we are alone, there is something exhilarating for me to witness this power of the present Christ when it is seeping into the pores of youth in mass quantity.

But I am not a bystander at the Gathering, simply gleaning off the young people’s energy, only watching the Spirit work. I too am infused with the power of the present Christ. My call to walk alongside young people and “figure it out” is affirmed at each Gathering. It is an exhausting week that leaves me utterly spent and utterly filled at the same time.

And there is no better feeling than that: the feeling of simultaneously being spent and filled, giving and receiving so much. The Gathering is indeed holy ground where relationships are deepened through Christ, and the church, the Body of Christ, is pulsing with renewed energy. This is why I love the Gathering.

Deaconess Kristen Baltrum serves as Director of Faith Formation at Bethlehem Lutheran in Longmont, CO

-Donna Wiegel

My name is Donna Wiegel, and I’ve been part of the Youth Gathering staff since 1997. Heidi Hagstrom, the former Gathering director, and I came on board together, when the Gathering moved from Minneapolis to become part of the ELCA churchwide organization’s ministry. Prior to working for the Gathering, I worked with Women of the ELCA for 5 years in a similar capacity – registration and housing.

My 19-year tenure with the Gathering has brought me tremendous joy. Not only am I on a first name basis with many of our adult leaders, but I can count so many of you as friends. Each Gathering cycle, I am energized when we get to the point where registration opens, and we really start to communicate with congregations. Youth workers are the heroes in my story of the Gathering!

It is also amazing to think that when I first started with the Gathering, nothing was digitized, and all registrations were on paper, mailed to the office on opening day. We had bins and bins and bins full of mail, with a lot of helping hands to sort, open, and date-stamp each batch. Then we got organized for data entry and processed payments, and at the end of the day, everything balanced.

I took my calling seriously enough to begin to streamline where I could. It took two Gathering cycles to move to a completely online registration system, with congregational accounts that churches could manage on their own.

In the end, serving the people of this wonderful church is my vocation and helping this ministry come to life every three years is the work of the Spirit.

Donna is a member of Resurrection in the Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago. She lives for summer weather to be out on her bike and with her granddaughter and dogs.

-Rachel Kurtz

I was ruminating on the theme of the Gathering while rocking my daughter to sleep and thought about the fact that every parent wants their children to have a good life, be safe and secure. No matter what “group” you are in, we want good things for our children…when children are tucked in at night, parents dream of peace and light, of love, hope, freedom, and a future. 

I put her to bed, went downstairs, and listened to the song on repeat, writing almost all the verses in a matter of an hour. I am convinced that I was assisted in writing by the Holy Spirit. The next morning I wrote the final verse at breakfast. In the end, I only changed a couple words and half a phrase I didn’t care for.

Fast forward to 35,000 people in the Superdome. As soon as I sang the first chorus, everyone joined me in singing. As the song went on, the singing was glorious; as the balloons, ballet dancers, and mass choir entered, it became more and more heavenly and majestic. I believe the Spirit of God is always present, but there are moments in our lives where heaven meets earth, and the feeling of God’s presence is palpable. I tried not to cry with everyone else as I sang and thought about my son (who I was a month from having) and about myself as a little girl, just hoping someone would notice me, thinking I would never be one of the cool kids.

All the times in junior and senior high school that I dreamed of singing for people and all the beautiful doors God has opened for me since then. I never ever dreamed in my most hopeful imaginings that I would ever write music or play an instrument or sing songs with thousands of people. The Gathering to me is a faith gathering where young people get to renew their faith, sing together, play together, and I am certain there are people at each Gathering that will, in the future, lead it in ways they could never dare to dream they will!

Rachel Kurtz is a singer, songwriter, and speaker.

-Amelia Dowling

We all have our doubts, especially when it comes to our faith. It’s natural and any Christian you talk to will admit to doubting their own relationship with God. Our doubts help us grow in our faith and lead us to new avenues, where we can go deeper in our faith. Our doubts make our roots grow stronger because it stirs up in us a need to learn more and question more. By doing this, we discover just how deep God’s love, grace, and forgiveness for us is.

There is nothing more reassuring than standing in Ford Field, singing “Amazing Grace” with 30,000 other youth, who believe the same things as you do. Your body is shaking and vibrating, your heart feels the vibrations from the base, and for about 20 minutes after you leave, everyone’s still screaming because no one can hear after listening to 30,000 people sing at the top of their lungs.

You sit there looking around and think, “Huh. Ya know, every single time that I’ve ever had a doubt, I bet you every other person in this room has had the same doubt. I bet you every other person in this room has had struggles, maybe different than mine, but still hardships that they continued to believe throughout and after. I bet you every person in this room recognizes the sacrifice God made for us, cannot imagine doing the same, and is completely in awe from the love we receive.”

I felt these very feelings sitting in Ford Field; you don’t feel alone. You feel like you have a family – a large, extended, crazy family – but a family, nonetheless, because that is exactly what we are. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Amelia is a recent high school graduate from Maryland.

-Molly Beck Dean

Hi! My name is Molly and I serve as the Program Director for the ELCA Youth Gathering or Gathering Director for short. I began as director in January 2015 and accompanied former director, Heidi Hagstrom, and the other 2015 leadership in the months leading up to the Gathering.

So while I’m still relatively new on staff, my passion for and involvement in the Gathering started many years ago. In July of 1997, I boarded a bus in North Dakota and headed to New Orleans for the Gathering. That week was transformative for me. I experienced God in a new way. I saw how huge the ELCA was, and I was delighted in knowing tens of thousands of other teens shared in the Lutheran faith with me. I made lifelong friends, experienced an exciting city, and learned how important an adult youth worker can be in your life.

I am also fairly certain that the Gathering cemented God’s calling for my life. I returned home fired up about youth ministry, dove deeply into leadership within my synod, and rededicated myself to ministry in my congregation. I went on to serve as Director of Youth & Family Ministry at St. John in Fargo and as assistant program staff for the Northwestern Minnesota Synod and the ELCA Youth Ministry Network. For two summers, I was on staff with Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida. In 2002, the Holy Spirit called me to Philadelphia where I joined the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod as their Youth Ministry Specialist for almost thirteen years.

Youth ministry is my calling. Showing young people the magnitude of God and God’s church is my passion. Walking alongside young leaders is my honor. Creating a community of support for adult youth workers is my delight. I love God and feel blessed to be doing this work in the ELCA.

My first love is my family! My husband and two children are on this crazy journey alongside me. We are making our new home in Illinois, and I am so grateful for their love and support.

Blessings!