– Tuhina Verma Rasche

Emcees. Speakers. Musicians. Dancers. Producers. Coordinators. Guides. It takes a community with numerous talents and skills to create a lively and meaningful experience for each night of Mass Gathering. It also takes time, patience, humor, and grace. The Mass Gathering team brought people together to embody what the Mass Gathering will be. There was singing, dancing, and speaking. There was also space and time to get to know one another and to create new friendships as preparations continue for our time together in Houston.

As one of the speakers, this gathering has been a sacred space of sharing the stories and experiences that have brought us to this place of preparation. We’ve been able to care for one another in ways that are representative of the church. We’ve held space for one another to share our gifts in this space.

This space and time of preparation has been holy ground.

It is this memory of sacred and holy ground I will take with me to Houston.

There have been tears of joy and a lot of laughter. There have been so many conversations over breaking bread together (and also over Swedish Fish and gummy bears). So much care and preparation has been taken by the Mass Gathering team. It’s at this foretaste of the feast to come that I cannot wait for all of you to see what will happen each evening of the Gathering.

– Tony Acompando

I am Tony Acompanado, a member of the Mass Gathering Team for the 2018 Youth Gathering in Houston. I am humbled and super excited for the opportunity to be returning for a third cycle to serve on this amazing team.

I attended my first Youth Gathering in 2006 in San Antonio as a youth director and participant; I still recall so many wonderful moments that my youth and I experienced throughout that Gathering.

In Detroit in 2015, I had the incredible opportunity to speak on the main stage, and this once in a lifetime experience offered me a truly unique perspective of the Gathering.

Being invited to share God’s message of hope and redemption within the larger Gathering community continues to be an amazing and unforgettable experience that has impacted my life in so many different ways.

That same year, I also watched my eldest daughter experience her first Gathering. Seeing the work of the Holy Spirit in her life because of the Gathering has been so incredible.

As I look ahead to 2018 in Houston, I am filled with excitement because my eldest son will be attending his first Gathering, and I can’t help but wonder about all the amazing people he will meet, the transformative experiences of God’s love that he will encounter, and the sense of mission that will return home with him.

It has been an amazing gift to experience the Gathering through these diverse perspectives with each one offering me a unique encounter of many ways the Gathering impacts people’s lives. As you look ahead to Houston next summer, I pray that you are filled with tremendous wonder and excitement for all the ways that you may encounter God while you experience all that the Gathering has to offer.  It is my hope that you will immerse yourselves in new experiences and share in the stories of the amazing people you will meet along your journey. I trust that you will experience God’s transformative love throughout the Gathering, no matter where you find yourself.  I cannot wait to see you in Houston!

– Chris Marien

Greetings from the Mass Gathering Team. My name is Chris, and I have the honor of leading the team that creates and shapes the mass gathering sessions each night and worship on Sunday morning. With my own eyes, I have seen the transforming power and work of God through the ELCA Youth Gathering.

The depth and breadth of ministry offered at the Gathering invites participants to engage the promise and grace of God on their own terms, yet in the same breath, defies their imaginations.

As a high school student, I experienced my own Youth Gathering under the banner, “Called to Freedom.” As a pastor, I was invited to accept the challenge of going behind the scenes to serve God as a participant on a planning team. Few experiences of God’s wonder compare with the sheer energy and awe of the Youth Gathering.

Leading the Mass Gathering Team, I have the privilege of working with some of the most gifted and dedicated people in our church. People from all over the church send ideas to the Mass Gathering Team for consideration and development towards an expression on the main stage during an evening session. The best part the Gathering is being able to imagine anything and everything to the glory of God, and then watching the Holy Spirit shape the actual moments that define each night we gather together.

Opening night at the Gathering is always a mix of excitement, exhaustion, anticipation, and trust in our God that all will be as God plans it to be. We are already counting down the days to June 2018.

Come and join us. Come see what God is up to in Houston!