The First ob Ministry Reunion
We decided to try something this past weekend we had never done. CE National has not sponsored an official Operation Barnabas reunion before. The reasoning, quite simply, has been that while it is fun to see everybody, the thing that ob is about is ministry. And we have not had that component before.
So thing year we gave it a shot. And did it ever pay off. There were 37 of us that were at the Urban Hope Training Center in Philly this past weekend. Some ob alums from our 2007 teams couldn't make it because of the distance of travel or previous engagements, but a significant group was there to serve in Kensington, share our faith in downtown Philly on South Street, worship together, laugh together, share together, and then worship with a black church in West Philadelphia (you can start singing along with Will Smith: "...West Philadelphia, born and raised...")
Simply put: I think this was the best weekend ministry experience I have had in the 12 years of working full time at CE National.
Usually we send the teens back home after a summer and do all we can to encourage them to continue to put Jesus first and to serve. But this time, we got to see all of them together--after three months--and enjoy watching them apply what they had learned all summer long and are continuing to do. And can they ever do it!
To read student reports and see photos of the weekend, go to www.cenational.org and look under ob Ministry Reunion under ob. It will be posted by the end of this week.
It was great ministry and an incredible confirmation that the time and energy the ob leaders, the sending churches, our family, and CE National invests is so very worth it.
Can't wait until the first weekend in November next year.
So thing year we gave it a shot. And did it ever pay off. There were 37 of us that were at the Urban Hope Training Center in Philly this past weekend. Some ob alums from our 2007 teams couldn't make it because of the distance of travel or previous engagements, but a significant group was there to serve in Kensington, share our faith in downtown Philly on South Street, worship together, laugh together, share together, and then worship with a black church in West Philadelphia (you can start singing along with Will Smith: "...West Philadelphia, born and raised...")
Simply put: I think this was the best weekend ministry experience I have had in the 12 years of working full time at CE National.
Usually we send the teens back home after a summer and do all we can to encourage them to continue to put Jesus first and to serve. But this time, we got to see all of them together--after three months--and enjoy watching them apply what they had learned all summer long and are continuing to do. And can they ever do it!
To read student reports and see photos of the weekend, go to www.cenational.org and look under ob Ministry Reunion under ob. It will be posted by the end of this week.
It was great ministry and an incredible confirmation that the time and energy the ob leaders, the sending churches, our family, and CE National invests is so very worth it.
Can't wait until the first weekend in November next year.
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