Created to Be!
National Youth Gathering 2024
Beloved People of God,
For the first time in six years, thousands of ELCA young people from across the country gathered in one place. After postponing and ultimately canceling the national event in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jack Belardo, Rowan and Lindsay Billker, Ashton and Gavin Clay, Laura and Sarah Hall, and I (Kelly joined us on Friday) flew down on Monday, July 15, 2024, and began the Gathering on Tuesday, July 16 in New Orleans.
At the Smoothie King Center, nearly 16,000 of us began the week’s events at a mass gathering centered on the message “Created to be Brave.” This year’s Gathering, held July 16-20, featured a different daily thematic focus. The themes included created to be: brave, authentic, free, disruptive and disciples. The testimonials and main speakers were incredible. We even got to hear from our friend, Pastor Drew Tucker, who shared his story and unique qualities, which God called him to use for God’s glory. The music was also amazing, of course it is New Orleans, but the house band and special musical guests were truly inspirational. And for the first time, an ELCA Young Adult Gathering took place concurrent with the Gathering, under the same theme.
The youth groups, which were outfitted in their own identifying, colorful T-shirts packed the arena, in fact locals called us all packs of “Skittles.” Tuesday evening, Elizabeth Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, took the stage for her introductory remarks. “I get asked so often, ‘Where are the youth and young adults in the ELCA?’ And here you are,” Eaton said to wild applause. “You are not the church of tomorrow; you are the church of right now.”
Over three days, we joined local leaders in trainings and accompaniment service projects throughout the city. Joe Liles, pastor of the Neighborhood Church in Bentonville, Ark., spoke about the role bravery plays in living out one’s faith in tangible ways. “There are 16,000 of us here together in the city of New Orleans to change lives and be changed,” Liles said. “You cannot keep the Spirit of God inside this arena... You need to walk out your faith into this city and share the love of Christ. We all need to walk our own faith in our own way.”
Following the mass gathering—and after each gathering that week—community life events offered games, dances, craft supplies, quiet spaces, devotional materials and question-and-answer sessions with speakers at hotels around the city.
You can be incredibly proud of how our youth “walk out” their faith. Each day they were engaged in the events, in conversation and finding ways to share their unique gifts and the love of God in unique ways. I can’t wait for you to get the opportunity to hear more from each of them on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at all three services at the Belden Campus. They will help lead worship, share their experiences and express their thanks for your support so they could grow as they were “Created to Be!”
In three years, the next Gathering will be in Minneapolis, and our youth say, “Bring a friend!”
See You Sunday,
Pastor Bruce
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