Hear reflections from Elizabeth Witmer, Maddie List, and聽Caleb Schrock-Hurst, about exploring ministry this past summer with the聽. What might exploring ministry look like for you?
Elizabeth Witmer, a聽junior聽social work聽major, was at Faith Mennonite Church in Minneapolis. In addition to leading worship, visiting a terminally ill church member, preaching, planning and attending actions and workshops with a local immigrant-led organization, attending protests, and various other activities, Witmer said that she enjoyed being within walking distance of 鈥渁nything I want do鈥� and being 鈥渨ell connected to causes and actions I鈥檓 passionate about.鈥�
Maddie List, a senior Bible and religion major from Arlington, Virginia, was in a summer service program called聽Ocean City Beach Project run by the聽Coalition for Christian Outreach聽for students who want to develop further as campus leaders. List and 30 other participants lived together,聽 attended classes, participated in Bible studies, led worship, and engaged in faith-based discussions in small groups. They each also had jobs in Ocean City, where they practiced discussing faith with coworkers.
Caleb Schrock-Hurst, a senior English major,聽was at New Hope Fellowship/Nueva Esperanza of Alexandria (Virginia). In addition to making pastoral visits, playing guitar in the church鈥檚 worship band, preaching, attending a young adult Bible study, 鈥渞eading a lot more scripture and theology than I do on a regular basis,鈥� and working on a variety of projects, Schrock-Hurst traveled with pastor and supervisor Kirk Hanger to visit member congregations from Mexico to Philadelphia.