Driven07 Encourages Short-Term Ministries

Beth Arnott of Powell, Ohio, reads Scripture during a morning worship session in Bolton Theatre on the campus of Kenyon College. It was part of Driven07, the Grace Brethren young adult conference which was held in Gambier, Ohio in late June.

After a weekend of challenges to let God make His mark in their lives, participants at Driven07, the annual Grace Brethren young adult conference, were given an opportunity to put shoe leather on any decisions made as a result of the weekend.

During Driven07, Kary Oberbrunner meets with the teens from the summer Grace Institute from the Grace Brethren Church in Powell, Ohio. The young people volunteered at the conference, assisting with everything from babysitting to proofreading.

The conference was held June 21-24 on the campus of Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. At the end of the weekend, participants who committed to one of three short-term mission opportunities were eligible for a scholarship to jump start raising funds for that ministry. Ten individuals have indicated an interest in participating in receiving one of the scholarships.

In the final session of Driven07, Kondo Simfukwe, pastor at Christ’s Covenant Church in Winona Lake, Ind. challenged participants to claim the land and face their giants for God. As the session came to a close, members of the audience shared the dreams God had given them, including changing the culture for Christ, claiming the entire Appalachian region for Christ, ministering to the homosexual community to show them how they can live life in Christ, using music to minister to professional artists and cultural icons, and many more!

The opportunities were each presented during the weekend conference. One is an urban European opportunity in fall with Grace Brethren International Missions (GBIM). A second ministry is available with Soul’nami Takeover 2008. A third is an opportunity to visit Cambodia and Thailand in February 2008 with Asia’s Hope.

It was the culmination of a weekend retreat that included speakers such as Jim Brown, pastor of Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Ind.; Kondo Simfukwe, a pastor at Christ’s Covenant Church in Winona Lake, Ind.; and Jeff Bogue, pastor of the North Campus of Grace Church in Akron, Ohio.

The weekend also included practical workshops, a prayer tent, and three-fold communion.

Driven08 will be held June 26 to 29, 2008 on the campus of Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.

For more information, see drivenblog.wordpress.com or e-mail the Driven staff at info@drivenconference.com.