Junior Youth Worship

The junior youth gathering will meet in the Regency Ballroom of the Hyatt Hotel, located on the south end of the convention center.

Junior youth will gather at 8 a.m. in the Regency Ballroom every morning and will be chaperoned by youth sponsors or small group leaders throughout the day.

The junior youth gathering will dismiss each night from the Regency Ballroom. For security reasons, parents will need to personally pick up their youth at this location, unless special arrangements have been made with the junior youth coordinator. Youth will not be released unless accompanied by a parent or youth sponsor.

Our week will be filled with many things—meaningful worship, teambuilding activities, a scavenger hunt through the city, Servant Projects, special performances by Ted & Co. and Ken Medema, and a trip to the fabulous Columbus Zoo and Zoombezi Bay Water Park. It’s going to be a great week!

On Wednesday and Thursday, the junior high gathering will end at 9 p.m. On Friday night, we will attend the Upside Down King and dismiss at 9:45 p.m. Saturday night, parents may pick up their youth at 10:30 p.m. after the Kutless concert. Youth will be dismissed from the Regency Ballroom each night.

Due to the many activities planned, we ask that visitors to the junior high gathering limit their visits to the worship times. Everyone is welcome to attend worship with us. (See schedule for times.) Youth are expected to remain with their small group at the junior high gathering for all events.

To reach the junior youth gathering in an emergency, contact the Information Booth or the Convention Planning office at (614) 827-2840 to be connected with the junior youth coordinator.

Junior Youth Coordinators

Torrey Ball works at Camp Mennoscah after spending several years as a youth pastor. Much of his free time is spent on the family farm. Torrey is looking forward to a great week in Columbus at the Junior High Gathering, cuz there's nothing like being with a couple hundred junior highers hanging out and worshiping God together!

Ariana Kauffman is the manager at Lincoln Perk, a coffee shop in Hesston, KS. She enjoys spending time with her family, being outside, going out on the town for a splendid dinner, and can't wait to meet all of the junior highers in Columbus!!

Kendra King is a Resident Director of women at Hesston College. She loves being outside, great conversations over Chai, and seeing new places. If she could travel anywhere in the world, she would visit Sweden or Ireland. Kendra is really looking forward to helping junior highers experience God in a new way and meet lots of new people in Columbus!

Todd Lehman is the campus pastor at Hesston College in Hesston, KS. He enjoys running (the further the better), riding a motorcycle, reading, watching (all) sports, and playing board and card games. He is married to Julie. They enjoy traveling together, hanging out with their Sunday school class, riding a tandem bike, and good coffee.

Songbooks

If you have your own copies of Sing the Story, Sing the Journey or The Hymnal: Worship Book, please bring them to Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009.

In an effort to conserve our natural resources, Mennonite Church USA Convention Planning will not be providing separate songbooks or including music in the program books. However, the words for the songs sung will be available on the screen. If you wish to purchase any of these songbooks they will be available at the Mennonite Publishing Network exhibit.

Offerings

Junior youth gathering will collect an offering during the Thursday morning worship service. Junior youth participants have each received a $5 bill (courtesy of Mennonite Church USA) and have been asked to make that money “grow.” The money received at the service will be used to assist Racial/Ethnic churches with youth programming, and will also help their youth attend Convention 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Speaker

Marty Troyer is the pastor of Houston (Texas) Mennonite Church. But don’t let that fool you. He’d rather be outside playing ultimate Frisbee with friends, hanging out with his dog or on a bike ride with his family than in his office being all boring and alone.

He’s been a youth pastor for nine years, specializing in retreats, ski trips and getaways of all sorts. Some of his best memories involve Mennonite conventions, both as a student and as a pastor. If tradition holds for this convention, he’ll make at least 17 new friends, get caught singing out of tune twice a day and have more fun in Menno-world than he would in the Bahamas.

Marty is thrilled to be married to Hannah and to be the proud daddy to Malakai, who will be almost 2 during the convention. The family’s best friend is their dog named Chubs. Actually, their best friends are people, but they really do like Chubs a lot. Marty grew up just outside of Columbus and thinks it’s one of the best cities in the world! He has three siblings, three post-high school diplomas (including one from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in 2008), and 1,303 key chains. Marty loves being with junior youth, and he hopes that at least three of you pull a practical joke on him while in Columbus.

Our exciting worship

Junior high worship will begin on Wednesday morning, as Marty Troyer speaks about “Discovering our God-filled World: Breathe and be filled!” We will celebrate God in our midst and seek to discover God’s presence in the world and in our lives.

Wednesday night’s theme is “Discovering God at work in our world” as Marty asks the questions, Where do we see God at work? and What is God doing? We will look at indicators that show us God’s work in the Bible as well as daily life.

Thursday morning, we will focus on “Dreaming a God-filled world today.” Marty will invite youth to envision a world where “Your will be done, Your kingdom come” is a reality, as youth brainstorm in the arenas of school, church, community, and world.

Thursday evening, youth will join with the greater convention for joint worship.

Friday morning, our theme is “Working with God in his world” as we participate in Servant Projects.

After we return from working, our Friday afternoon worship will examine “The Transformation of a God-filled life.” Marty will speak on God’s power to heal brokenness in our lives. Youth will be invited to release hurts and brokenness and exchange them for peace and freedom.

“Embracing being filled by God” highlights Saturday morning worship. Marty will focus on the practices of a God-filled life and witnessing God in our world and help youth answer the question, What things can I do to be a faithful follower of Christ?

Our final worship on Saturday night will look at “Sharing our God-filled world with others.” What does it mean so live a God-breathed life as a young person? Marty will empower youth to make a difference in their own communities, schools, and families.

Worship band – The Ransom Project

The Ransom Project, a band from southeast Iowa, will lead music for the junior high convention. Formed in 2002 to create a contemporary worship service for youth in a rural community, the group provided relevant, Biblical teachings and modern music that drew worshippers to God. After reorganizing in the summer of 2008, the group named themselves "The Ransom Project" and recorded their first album. Since the beginning, their vision has been to lead worshippers to the Object of their affection. The Ransom Project is still passionate about worship, and what that looks like in a church, or camp, or in a coffee shop. The Ransom Project is lead by Rodney Gehman and includes Tim Bender, Nevin Bontrager, and Jon Miller. For Columbus 2009, the group will be joined by Carlene Miller.

Drama - John Brommels

John Brommels has been acting, teaching, directing, and writing plays professionally for the past ten years. Currently, John resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Rebecca, where he works at several area schools creating plays with students and using theatre as a teaching tool in the classroom.