July 3, 1999 -- Center Harbor, NH—Nearly 200 youths representing 33 countries are gathered at Geneva Point Center here to learn what "mission" is, what it means to their lives, and how they can faithfully carry out the mission of God’s church.
Over the course of the week-long conference, teenagers, between 16 and 17, will explore issues of racial justice, economic justice, environmental justice, and justice for children in a series of workshops. The gathering is designed to help prepare young people to be of service in the world. It is sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), mission agency for the 9.5-million member United Methodist Church.
The conference opened Saturday with evening with a moving sermon in which the Rev. John McCullough, who heads the GBGM mission personnel unit, reminded the youngsters of God’s wish that they use all the talents and abilities bestowed upon them. God desires, he said, that "In addition to having a sense of mission, a sense of purpose that we would also have the fire of justice within us; that we would not turn our eyes from or close our ears to the imperfections of the world, but rather that we would focus on them."
Following the conference, participants will spend a weekend serving at mission sites, such as soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries, in the northeast.
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