I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Philippians 1:3-5
This is the story of how the youth groups from two very different settings have come together as one.
One of those youth groups is from Hope Lutheran Church in Sunbury Ohio, which in truth is located halfway between the town of Sunbury and the town of Centerburg in a rural/suburban context. There are very few minorities in these communities.
The other youth group is from Ebenezer Ethiopian, a Lutheran church located not too far from the Columbus Ohio airport and about a 45-minute drive from Hope. Ebenezer is a congregation of immigrants from Ethiopia and most, if not all of the adults, speak Amharic as their first (and sometimes only) language.
So, how on earth did our congregations (and especially our youth) come to be so intertwined?
On paper we have little in common. But what we do have in common is far bigger than any differences. We share in Jesus. We have the same confession of faith. We both teach Luther’s Small Catechism to our youth and adults.
Our partnership began when Pastor Berhanu was looking for help with teaching their youth. The problem Pastor Berhanu had identified was that the adults at Ebenezer either didn’t speak English or didn’t speak it like Americans speak it, but they had very thick accents and struggled to articulate things as well because it wasn’t their first language. However, the kids at Ebenezer were thoroughly American in their speech and thoughts. Because of the language (and even cultural) barrier, the children of Ebenezer struggled to see this as a place where they belonged and would be long in the future.
In many ways, their struggle was the struggle of the German Lutherans in the United States about 100 years ago as the older generation held on to German, but the younger generation operated in English.
Like the Macedonian man in Acts 16:9 calling to Paul in a vision and saying “Come over to Macedonia and help us,” Pastor Berhanu had been asking for help with their youth at our circuit pastor’s meetings.
Not knowing exactly what we were getting into, I and my part time youth worker Atalie decided that we could at least try to help. I was only in my second year at Hope and this was not at all what I had anticipated when I took the call here, but the Lord had presented a need and we were going to see if we could help.
Rather than go on a short term mission trip as our youth group had often done in the past, we instead would stay local and partner with Ebenezer.
So, together with Pastor Berhanu, we planned a Vacation Bible School in which the High School youth from both Ebenezer and Hope would work together to teach the younger children. It was important to us that this not be something we do “for them” but something that we did together with the saints from Ebenezer.
We were flying by the seats of our pants, but somehow (by God’s grace) everything came together and it was an amazing week. Each day there were more children at VBS than the previous day. Each day, after VBS was over, our tired crew ate dinner together, debriefed about the day, and prayed together to the Lord.
That was 8 years ago. Since that time the youth from Hope and Ebenezer have regularly gotten together for youth events, Bible Study, and even going to the past two Youth Gatherings together. We’ll be going together again in 2025.
Our congregations have had worship services together using elements in Amharic along with English, Christmas concerts together with music from each congregation, and shared meals with both traditional American foods and traditional Ethiopian foods (which is absolutely delicious by the way).
Since that time, we have also been able to incorporate the youth from Oromo Lutheran (another Ethiopian immigrant congregation in Columbus) and St. Paul in Chuckery (a rural, long established congregation) into some of our gatherings.
Have things always gone smoothly? Not always.
Different cultural expectations have sometimes caused hiccups. But through the spiritual gifts of patience and love, we have gotten through any issues with relative ease and the joy of the Spirit has been abundant.
In Revelation 7 we see a picture of the church in heaven. There, gathered around Jesus, are people from “every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” That is how it will be in the New Heavens and the New Earth as well.
But we need not wait for heaven or the resurrection to enjoy and participate in such unity. While the world seeks to divide people by race, Jesus removes such divisions. While “rural whites” are pitted against “immigrant people of color” in the media, in Christ there is fellowship, friendship, and love. There is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:5-6) The prayer of Jesus that “they may be one even as we are one” (John 17:22) is something our youth have seen in action.
Points to Consider
- Might there be a similar partnership just waiting to happen for your congregation? Reach out to your pastor or Circuit Visitor to see if there are congregations in your area that might be mutually beneficial to partner with.
- Planning an event for youth from any two congregations involves two different cultures, even if the congregations are similar. Make sure you’re cognizant of this and seek to be sensitive to the cultures of both congregations.
- Instead of going away for a short-term mission, are there opportunities in your community where you can sow and plant and reap over the course of years? Long term partnerships within your community can make a big impact.
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