A Moment for Mission
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” —Romans 12:12-13, NRSV
The Youth Service Fund is a means of stewardship education and mission support of youth within The United Methodist Church. Youth raise the money, decide which projects their gifts will support and donate the money to those projects.
In the Dakotas Annual Conference, the fund supports the Tree of Life Ministry in Mission, South Dakota. Located on the Rosebud Reservation, Tree of Life serves some of the poorest counties in the United States. The reservation has an 80 percent unemployment rate. Tree of Life reaches out through a feeding program and food pantry, a boutique-thrift store and a construction ministry.
Dakotas YSF gifts also assist United Methodist youth camping scholarships, the Spirit Lake Ministry Center, a homeless shelter, denominational projects and anti–human trafficking efforts. The fund aids scholarships for United Methodist seminary students from the Dakotas.
In the Tennessee Annual Conference, the Conference Council on Youth Ministries (CCYM) gives 47 cents of every YSF dollar raised to youth ministries both within and outside of the conference. Thirty cents go directly to the Youth Service Fund, administered by the Division on Ministries with Young People, to support global work that serves youth and children. The conference retains 23 cents for administration of the fund and other youth ministries of the CCYM. Events like Hands and Feet, mission projects at Warmth in Winter, and other ministries benefit from contributions.
What ministries does the Youth Service Fund support in your annual conference? Check it out today!
Offertory Prayer
Loving God, may our gifts to the Youth Service Fund offer hope to the suffering, contribute to the needs of the saints and extend hospitality to strangers. In your name, we pray. Amen.
From Discipleship Ministries: Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – Merciful and forgiving God, the tithes and gifts we offer to you this morning are but a small portion of the blessings we have received. The Gospels remind us that Jesus instructed us to “deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow,” and yet we deny ourselves little, see the smallest of crosses as too great a burden, and follow only from a safe distance. In doing so, we cut ourselves off from deeper experiences of discipleship. Forgive us and renew our strength and discipline to walk this road with our Savior. In his holy name, we pray. Amen. (Matthew 16:21-28)
From United Methodist Men: Lord Jesus, make us deeply aware of what is happening around and help us to understand the handwriting on the wall. Grant us a heart that appreciates the good but hates the evil. Lord, help us eliminate racial discrimination. Bind people to embrace love, peace and unity. Dear Lord, I will never doubt Your tender heart and I will always cling to You because I am one of Your children. Thank You, Lord, for inexhaustible love and mercy for us. This we pray in the name of your son, Jesus, the Christ. Amen. — Carlos Manio, Philippines
Newsletter Nugget
What is the Youth Service Fund? It is a means of stewardship education and mission support of youth within The United Methodist Church.
Much more than a simple drive for funds, the YSF is one way United Methodist youth respond to God’s command to be good caretakers of all that God has given. It’s also a way to engage in the mission of the church as young people strive to live as disciples of Jesus Christ and work to transform the world around them.
Youth can contribute individually or through their church or district. Some youth groups tithe 10 percent to the Youth Service Fund when they raise money for other causes such as mission trips or conference-wide events.
The Book of Discipline (2016) (Par. 1208.1) explains, “As a part of the Fund’s cultivation, youth shall be challenged to assume their financial responsibilities in connection with the total program and budget of the church of which they are members.” Thank you for your support!
—Adapted from Dakotas and Tennessee annual conferences and Tree of Life Ministry websites
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