wfn.org | Service Adventure begins 10th year

[Beth Hawn]

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To:  'Worldwide Faith News'
Date: 1998-09-02 14:55
Priority: 3
Message ID: D2F85ED65442D211AAB0006008075ABF
Conversation ID: Service Adventure begins 10th year

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September 2, 1998
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
219-294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

In its 10th year, Service Adventure continues to shatter records

ELKHART, Ind. (GCMC/MBM) - Service Adventure began its 10th program year   
in
August, setting new records for the third consecutive year in the numbers   
of
participants, unit leaders and units.

But apart from the increasing popularity of this short-term mission   
program
for 18- to 20-year-olds, the program's leaders see a growing commitment   
of
young adults to mission - and a greater call of leaders into a ministry   
of
discipleship with post-high-school students.

Founded in 1989 by Mennonite Board of Missions with 17 participants in   
three
units in Champaign, Ill., Philippi, W.Va., and Sarasota, Fla., Service
Adventure is now a joint program of MBM of the Mennonite Church and the
Commission on Home Ministries of the General Conference Mennonite Church.

Service Adventure began its 1998-99 year with a record 10 units -   
including new units in Albuquerque, N.M., Johnstown, Pa., and Lethbridge,   
Alta. - the first unit in Canada.  Canadian participation in the program   
continued to grow with Canadians representing 12 of this year's 50   
young-adult participants, twice their number in 1997-98.

With 12 new unit leaders, 66 people are now in Service Adventure up 27   
percent
from 1997-98.

"I feel incredibly optimistic about this Service Adventure year - more   
than
any other," said Phil Waite, MBM coordinator for Service Adventure.

Waite's optimism comes not just from the numbers - but from the depth of
spiritual commitment he saw in many quarters as the program year began.

"I feel God is at work in this program," said Waite, who led an Aug. 1-5   
retreat
in Albany, Ore., for new and returning unit leaders. "Everyone came away   
from
that [retreat] with a profound sense of call and a commitment to work   
with
young adults," he said.  Several unit leaders are using their two-year
commitment to Service Adventure as a time to test further call to   
ministry.

Following the retreat, Waite temporarily took on the role of a unit   
leader
himself to open a new unit Aug. 10 in Albuquerque, N.M. With the only   
location
without a unit leader in place at the start of the 1998-99 year, the   
Albuquerque
Mennonite Church found itself so enthusiastic about the possibilities for   

ministry that the congregation and its Service Adventure support   
committee
decided to forge ahead anyway.

Waite spent two weeks with the congregation and the Service Adventure
participants, leading the usual orientation process that each unit
experiences.  But he found such tremendous support from the congregation,   

that the start-up occurred smoothly.

"It was a real treat for me to watch a church embrace a unit like that,"   
Waite
said.  Although Service Adventure recruiters are still seeking to fill   
the
unit leader position in Albuquerque for this program year, members of
Albuquerque Mennonite and the unit's support committee have taken on the
extra commitment of unit leader responsibilities.  Their support had a
tremendous impact on the five young adults in the Albuquerque unit: "We   
don't
need a leader," they told Waite after visits from several congregation
members who live in the neighborhood.  "We've got 20 already."

Waite's experience was the most extensive time any Service Adventure
coordinator has spent with a single unit.  "It is hard not to come away   
from two
weeks in a Service Adventure unit without feeling hopeful about the   
future of
the church," he said. "The thing that continues to energize and excite me   
is
that I can see the future of the church taking shape right before my very   
eyes.
It's exciting to think about how much these young adults are going to   
grow,
how much God is going to change them."

The Norristown unit opened Aug. 24, while the rest of the units -   
including new
units in Johnstown and Lethbridge - opened Aug. 31.  (The Anchorage,   
Alaska,
unit runs on a February to December year.)

Service Adventure provides post-high school young adults with a   
short-term
adventure in service, learning and spiritual growth. In 1998-99, Service
Adventure will operate units in Albany, Ore., Albuquerque, N.M.,   
Anchorage,
Alaska, Champaign, Ill., Johnstown, Pa., Lethbridge, Alta., Norristown,
Pa., Philippi, W.Va., Raleigh, N.C., and South Bend, Ind.

Living in a household with other young adults, Service Adventure
participants serve as volunteers for community service organizations,
working with children, senior citizens or people with disabilities, or
providing repair or secretarial services.

As volunteers live in a household, they test possible career interests,
participate in the life of a Mennonite congregation and engage in group   
study
of the Bible, social issues and areas of personal growth under the   
guidance of
a unit leader.

* * *

Tom Price       PHOTO AVAILABLE