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- A Martin Luther bobblehead stands in front of Detroit’s Ford Field, where the ELCA Youth Gathering will be held July 15-19, 2015. Extravaganza participants had the opportunity to tour the venue.
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- Minneapolis hip-hop artist Dave Scherer – also known as Agape – performs while Extravaganza participants join in.
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- Jonathan Swenson – an ELCA pastor and a trained actor and founder of Paraphrase Theatre in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – presents a dramatic monologue at the Extravaganza.
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- The ELCA Youth Ministry Network aims to strengthen and empower adult leaders who work in child, youth and family ministry in ELCA congregations and in other areas of the church.
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- ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton preached at the Extravaganza’s opening worship.
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- Phil Ruge, a professor of religion at Texas Lutheran University and also a storyteller, tells the story of the Gospel of Mark during the Extravaganza. He tells the story of Mark 3-6, as a participant simultaneously illustrates it on a giant 8-foot Bible.
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- In an interactive exercise for two-person teams, participants chose a religious symbol that represents their life story. Team members then “branded,” or marked, each other with the chosen symbol.
More than 1,000 ELCA youth and family workers gathered in Detroit Jan. 30 – Feb. 2 for the 19th annual ELCA Youth and Family Ministry’s Extravaganza. The event provides youth and family leaders the opportunity to renew and revitalize their ministry and also a chance to bond with each other over common experiences. This year’s theme, “Story: God’s, Ours, Yours, Mine,” focused on how God’s story is interconnected with the story happening in people’s lives today.
