This past Sunday-Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend the LCMS (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) Michigan Youth Gathering! This is a huge event that takes place on our beloved Mackinac Island here in Michigan every three years. Around a thousand high schoolers travel with their various youth groups from all over the state to listen to the best speakers, participate in some of the most amazing Christian concerts and comedy shows, learn incredible and compelling apologetics, serve the community, and spend a ton of free time exploring the island and hanging out! The week's theme was "Anchored in Hope." We spent each day digging into the scripture found in Romans 5:1-8.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Everyday we had a mass gathering where we explored the Anchored in Hope topic. Day one we focused on suffering, day two on perseverance, day three on character, and day four on hope. We listened to some incredible testimonies and felt powerful movement that leads me to shower this truth upon you today. Christ died for you while you were still a sinner. He loves you THAT much. The peace and deep joy that fill my heart when I read that blow my mind. Suffering is present and temporal, but our hope goes far deeper than that. Our hope for eternity with God outweighs all else. One thing a speaker said that particularly stuck with me was this, "Hope isn't a wish, it's a confident expectation." We do not "wish" that we will spend eternity with Jesus; a wish would not outweigh our suffering. We confidently are expecting and awaiting our future with Him; THAT is how we are able to overcome suffering. Together we spent this time growing in the Word and in the Truth as we learned how to let hope be our anchor amidst the storms and waves of suffering.
The Week was a Blast.
I grew up attending the church and school of Our Shepherd Lutheran Birmingham in metro-Detroit. Even though we don't live there or attend that church anymore, we still have great relationships and connections and sometimes participate in their youth events! I went with the OSL church youth in a group of six kids and two adults. The Mission Point hotel hosted all of the teens and groups leaders! We had such a blast staying at the hotel with all of the other kids and enjoying a ton of fun experiences together!
Our schedule was PACKED! Each day was jammed full of scheduled activities from seven in the morning all the way until eleven-thirty at night. We had lots of different varieties or options and choices of things to do such as a comedy group, trivia night, swimming, games, and Flame's epic rap concerts. There were quite a few popular Lutheran artists and speakers who attended. They hung out with us when they weren't on stage, just adding to the personal effect of their messages. I had no idea that Lutheran rappers were even a thing that existed, but Flame and his DJ showed up to give us some pretty great concerts which was super fun!
Every group was also called on to complete a service project. My group was assigned to polish the controls of a giant ship called the Icebreaker. It's old purpose was to do just that: break the tough ice for all of the freighters who needed to pass. Now it is a museum, so we basically got a complete behind-the-scenes tour while we were there!
Then there was also informative and contemplative time. This is when we gathered to listen to these incredible speakers and pray and reflect on the Word of God together. Bryan Osborne from Answers in Genesis* (the organization that built the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter) came and gave rapid-fire presentations where he addressed hundreds of questions that Christianity gets hit with and that cause us to doubt. During this lecture time slot, there were around twenty different speakers giving talks and devotions that we could choose between. However, the Answers in Genesis lecture was so compelling and intriguing that Mr. Osborne had a packed audience of at least three hundred teens every day.
*Comment below, have you heard of Answers of Genesis or experienced any of their ministry? I personally have been to the Ark Encounter and to this retreat presentation which were both strikingly positive experiences!
It was such a fascinating lesson on apologetics! Have you ever wondered how old the earth is, what the Bible's stance is on global warming, or how we managed to get so many different races? Or what about Pangea, carbon dating, stem cells, and sexism? He addressed these questions and countless more. It was so fascinating that hundreds of teens (myself included) purchased two of his books that hold the answers to all of these questions written down. One book address scientific questions, and the other one tackles social questions. I will link them below and highly recommend that you check them out and seriously consider purchasing them! The Answers in Genesis ministry is well worth your time to look into.
Bryan Osborne's Books "Quick Answers to Tough Questions"
In the few hours of free time that we got, we shopped the downtown, biked the island, visited the Grand Hotel, swam, and hung out. Mackinac Island is always beautiful, but especially in early summer. This June was no exception! The flowers were absolutely stunning and the weather just beautiful on the biking day! The only downside to the weather was all the Canadian smoke blowing through, an issue that us in Northern Michigan have been pretty heavily feeling the impact of! However, we believe that God works all things for the good of those who love Him, and naturally this situation is no exception. I'm excited to see how He will work it out for good in the long run!
Throughout the week, we grew in the Word and in community with one another. God was most definitely present and active there and speaking clearly through the mouths of the presenters and leaders. If I learned anything throughout the week, it was to remain anchored in hope in order to persevere through suffering and to ask questions and then search for the answers! Both of these I would highly encourage for you today. Stay strong and attached to the hope of heaven that belongs to you eternally amidst the chaos and storms of life. Life isn't easy, but we aren't facing it alone! When questions and doubts rise up, research answers! Answers in Genesis is an incredible resource that I highly recommend. Finding those answers is hugely important and intriguing.
Bryan Osborne's Books "Quick Answers to Tough Questions"
CHECK OUT THE ANSWERS IN GENESIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL!!!!!!
If you are interested in watching the recap video of our week in which I appear briefly, check out the YouTube link below. It does a great job summarizing our time together! :)
See ya later! Meanwhile stay anchored in hope and keep fighting the good fight!,
Grace Teresa
Yes I have seen many Bryan Osborne podcasts! He is my favorite person to watch on YouTube actually! Very informative! Highly recommend!!
Wow! And I really mean . . . wow! What a great experience for you and 1,000 other young people. I was thinking like Lydia Barnes “is that her hair”? Thank God for good hair days! Thanks for the HOPE ✝️
I love all of these pictures as well as your appearance in the camp video!! I’m so glad that you had such a great time there! (and also your hair looks glorious in that biking photo 🤌)