Twelve youth from Bethesda Mennonite Church in Henderson, NE and four sponsors hopped on a bus Sunday, July 3 at 8:00 pm with youth groups from Central Plains Mennonite Conference (Shickley, Milford and Wood River Mennonite Churches) ready for a 17 hour journey to Pittsburgh for the Mennonite Church USA Convention. After trying to sleep in the bus overnight, we arrived in time for worship with over 3,500 youth. The theme for the week was Bridges to the Cross based on 2 Corinthians 5:16-20. Pittsburgh has 446 bridges, many of which we could see out of the convention center windows. We were challenged through seminars, small group activities, prayer, worship and high powered speakers to remember that we are called to be instruments of Christ’s reconciliation – we each have many “bridges to cross.â€Â Secondly, we heard God’s call to us to shape our culture as ambassadors for Christ, instead of continuing to be shaped by the culture. We were called to serve as “bridges to the cross.â€Â The youth had opportunities to be the bridge by participating in a servant project in the city cleaning up trash, visiting with local people about their faith, intentionally meeting new people and growing in their relationship with Christ. In addition to the youth, 10 adult delegates from Bethesda attended the adult sessions at convention.
Andrea Wall
