She challenged youth to use their passions
develop a budget and plan publicity. “We have a large rising ninth-
grade class,” said Zach in early summer, “and the idea is to make them feel accepted into the senior high youth group from the very beginning.” Te team chose the theme
“Doubts about Faith” to craſt a weekend experience of faith devel- opment and bonding with new youth group members. Eighth-grader Emma Johnston’s
longtime interest in health and well- ness was the impetus for a project on nutrition. Participants com- mitted to 30 days of healthy eating following a printed plan that Emma designed. Aſterward, participants could exchange their proof of completion for prizes. Eighth-graders Emily Ash-
ley, Kelsey Long and Milli Straub sponsored a 5-kilometer walk/run to help end world hunger. Te three friends coordinated everything from registration, food, publicity, signage, designing T-shirts to running the event. Te girls received a Trivent Action Team grant from Minneapolis-based Trivent Finan- cial (
www.thrivent.com) to help with their event. In addition to raising awareness
about world hunger, their event pro- vided more than $1,200 to purchase seeds for farmers in Haiti. “It was a really good opportunity
to learn that we could do what we set our heads to do,” Emily said. Kelsey was realistic about the
challenges the team faced. “You defi- nitely have to take time out of your schedule, and you can’t procrasti- nate,” she said. “It’s a great feeling to see that it all came together.”
When life gives you bananas Te “big picture” faith/life connec- tion happened when the girls saw that even at their age they could
September 2015 31
and interests to make a difference in as many lives as possible.
connect with and help people almost 1,500 miles away. Tis lesson didn’t stop aſter the
race either. Faced with an abun- dance of leſtover bananas that were snacks for the event, Trinity mem- ber Beth Parker baked banana bread for sale, both modeling good stew- ardship and increasing the money raised. Te bread was a big hit that resulted in even more orders, illus- trating how flames fanned from a single Spark Team project grew into something bigger. Te Spark Team model also
enables youth to explore faith and service using their unique giſts and talents. Anika Weaver’s passion for media production already had her working in local theater produc- tion and providing tech support in worship. For her project, Anika, 14, created a PowerPoint movie to celebrate the end of the youth group year. Not only did the presenta- tion benefit the group, it helped the entire congregation learn about how the youth are serving and learning. “We have to find ways to keep
kids wanting to come to church, not just being [dragged] by parents,” Anika said. Spark Teams assist families and youth by connecting their everyday
Emma Johnston has a passion for health and wellness. She shared her enthusiasm with members of the congregation by serving fresh fruits and vegetables at events and distributing healthy eating charts to youth and adults.
lives to vibrant faith and ministry. Teen musician Andrew Ashley
received a Trivent Action Team grant to purchase sheet music and design a summer piano perfor- mance series for residents of Juniper Village, a local senior living com- munity. “I was bogged down with work and stress at the end of the school year,” Andrew said, “but through Spark Teams I could still
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52