The Ministry Volunteer Program (MVP) has been held every summer for the past few years with three purposes.
- To cultivate workers in local, national, and global ministries.
- To train youths in specialized areas of pastoral and evangelical work.
- To provide opportunities for youths to serve God.
Projects at MVP are determined by the various General Assembly (GA) departments based on existing needs or suggestions from youths. Interested participants then apply for specific projects, and if accepted, work on the assigned project for the duration of MVP. In addition to providing our youths with hands-on opportunities to serve, a substantial focus is placed on fostering the right attitude of serving God through prayer and sharing sessions during which the minister, project team leads, and the participants share their reflections and challenges for mutual encouragement.
Aside from the project sessions, the past few MVP's have included special sessions that focus on either evangelism or pastoring, reflecting the two main commissions our Lord Jesus commanded. Pastoral-focused MVPs aim to train participants in ways to tend the flock or reach out to lost sheep via care packages, and evangelism-focused MVPs aim to train participants in boldly preaching the word through door-to-door or marketplace outreach.
The Ministry Volunteer Program has proven to be effective in completing many projects that help advance the ministry through the technical and creative skills of our youths, while offering them an opportunity to be trained in the spirit of servitude and in other methods of servitude, such as leading an encouragement session or through the special evangelism or pastoring sessions. Please pray that God can continue to guide this program so that it can continually improve and become a more effective event that brings glory to the name of God.
If you have any suggestions about MVP or ideas for a future MVP project, please let us know by emailing nym@tjc.org!