2011 program details

How does !Explore work?

!Explore is for youth who who are passionate about the church and who desire a place in it--youth who are asking deep questions and long to share their vision, energy and hopes.

!Explore invites 15 youth to participate each summer. Youth who are in grade 11 and grade 12 may apply for the summer program following that year in school.

Video: Watch "!Explore: What are your questions?" on YouTube.

Download the brochure for !Explore 2011.

Deadline for applying for summer 2011: February 18

The program is divided into two parts:

Group Experience

During the 16-day group experience, youth worship, serve and study. Participants become church with and for each other while exploring their own places in their congregations and in the church they imagine for the future.

Worship and prayer are the bookends of each day, offering new ways to connect to God. In between is time for reflection and activities that build relationships, develop leadership gifts and foster spiritual practices. Visits to local and regional congregations introduce participants to different forms of worship and Christian community. Intersections of faith, the church and God's creation become a focus during retreat and service activities.

Faculty and seminary students, who serve as event pastors, are conversation partners for the theological study that !Explore fosters. In-depth discussions about God, the Bible, culture, and faith encourage participants to ask tough questions and exchange ideas with others who share a commitment to the church.

In addition, youth work alongside Elkhart residents in service agencies that help transform the lives of people in the community. Assisting at a local food pantry, working with survivors of domestic abuse, and participating in life-skills training underscore ways to join in God’s healing work. In these service experiences, youth come to identify systemic injustice and understand how class, race and gender affect individuals and communities.

Group Experience dates: July 11-26, 2011.

Congregational Experience

The Congregational Experience comes before, after, or on both sides of the Group Experience (see reverse side). Participants give 100 hours of work in the congregation over five or more weeks, working along side their pastor in a mentoring relationship.

During this time, participants test gifts for ministry while church members can discover new, vibrant leadership in the congregation and practice their role of encouraging young people to hear God’s call on their lives.

Each participant joins in ministry assignments in the context of the congregation, observing, interacting with the congregation, practicing leadership skills, receiving and giving counsel, and further engaging in spiritual disciplines and theological reflection.

The pastor-mentor, the congregation and the !Explore participant collaborate to shape ways for new ministry gifts to emerge and grow, and for new perspectives and vision to be valued.

Read about two participants who swapped churches in summer 2007.

More about !Explore

In consultation with their home pastors, participants identify five areas they want to pursue. These include:

• a theological question or issue they want to wrestle with and discuss
• a spiritual discipline they want to practice to draw closer to God
• three ministry skills they want to test or practice more fully

These learning goals are integral to both the Group Experience and Congregational Experience of !Explore.

The congregation contributes $1000 to !Explore and gives the participant a stipend of $500.

Financial assistance may be available for participants who travel a great distance to AMBS or whose congregations can not afford the participation fee. Contact the !Explore Director, Andy Brubacher Kaethler, for more details.

Youth receive a stipend of $500 from AMBS in addition to the stipend from the congregation.

A brief history of !Explore

!Explore originated with AMBS's desire to respond to the leadership needs in the Mennonite Church with an approach that is faithful, thoughtful and hopeful. AMBS believes that young people need to be encouraged to listen to God's voice as they begin vocational discernment, and that congregational leaders and other adults can play an integral role in helping youth make vocational choices. AMBS believes that many youth are capable of serious theological reflection and long to have a positive impact on both their congregations and the larger community.

The first four years of !Explore are being funded through a generous grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. It is the hope of AMBS that through the partnerships !Explore establishes with participating congregations, the program can be sustained beyond the grant period and can become a useful tool to the church within the framework of the Mennonite Church's Culture of Call.