Fall 2019

Connect in a Group: POPTeens
AT THE NATIONAL
YOUTH GATHERING
Highlights from Pastor Matt
This summer, twenty high school/college
youth and adults drove to Minneapolis, MN
for the National Youth Gathering (NYG), Real.
Present. God. Almost 30,000 people from
around the world gathered for five days to
celebrate their faith, serve in the community
and beyond, and grow as people of Christ.
The youth played games like Twister (on a
game board larger than a basketball court);
reality Hungry, Hungry Hippos; and escape
rooms, all with youth from across the globe.
Speakers shared their faith journeys and
explained how to deal with problems and
social issues as well as how to be accepted
by peers and still live their faith. They talked
about how God is real to them, how God
is present in their lives, and how God is
there for all of us. In the evenings, the youth
assembled at the U.S. Bank Stadium to dance
and sing to Christian musicians like the NYG
band, Toby Mac, and We are They.
One story by event-speaker Ashley Paavola
really spoke to me. She used the phrase
“Jesus is Real, so I can be Real!” She spoke
the phrase loudly and powerfully and with
fists in the air. After she said it, I got goose
bumps all over. I listened as the entire
gathering of youth stood and cheered at the
top of their lungs. “Jesus is Real, so I can
be Real!” That phrase stayed with me since I
heard it. It is not about being something that
others want you to be; it’s about being you,
your real self to others, so people can see
Christ. Why? Because Jesus is real to us and in
our lives, so we have nothing to fear because
he’s got us. So be REAL, and know that our
REAL, PRESENT God is with us, so we can be
real with others.
NYG by-the-numbers
Meals Packed for
Feed My Starving Children 1,003,014
Kits Built for the Homeless 1,013
Inches of Hair Donated
926 (77 feet)
Letters to Veterans Written 574
Units of Blood Donated 463
Countries Represented at the Gathering 9
10 PRINCE OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH | FALL 2019