This Saturday morning at Momentum welcomed the sendoff of over 2,200 students into surrounding cities for ministry.
“We want this to be a training ground so when we go home, you can do it there as well,” said Jeff Bogue, pastor of Grace Church of Greater Akron, Ohio. He reminded students that their most difficult ministry would be to their peers, once they returned to their homes and middle school and high school classrooms. He said when they sit down in their school desk, that they automatically have four people that God has called them to witness to – those in the desks behind, ahead, to the left, and to the right of them.
“If I read the Book right, you are an ambassador for Jesus Christ, and you were put there for a reason,” he said.
OnMission organizer Eric Lane came forward to begin the sendoff, breaking up the packed auditorium into five groups. After representatives from churches took the stage to pray for each of the groups, they were dismissed to pick up a boxed lunch and then loaded into buses to be taken to various ministry points all across northern and central Indiana.
During earlier sessions this week, CE National executive director Ed Lewis reinforced the FISH model of sharing the gospel: be Friendly, take Initiative, Share your story, and share the Hope of Jesus.
During the day, students will be practicing sharing their faith using this model in street ministry opportunities in Indianapolis, Noblesvillle, Marion, Warsaw, and Winona Lake. Others will be completing projects or spending time with people at Marion outlets such as the American Legion, a city-wide festival, Victory Acres Farm, Habitat for Missions, Habitat for Humanity, and affordable housing projects throughout the city. Others will be ministering in organizations in other cities, such as the Warsaw Mission Fellowship Center, and Muncie Missions Homeless Shelter Thrift Store.
This evening, the students will reconvene for a final session and commissioning, where they will share stories of how God worked during the day in their own hearts and in the lives of others.
Momentum Youth Conference is the annual summer event for students sponsored by CE National. This year, held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind., it includes five days of challenging speakers, ministry opportunities, and fun. It concludes Sunday, July 23.