In 2007 we began to include a great addition to our confirmation program as we have partnered with Christ For the City International. This organization runs a short-term mission opportunity call “Urban Plunge”. Urban Plunge is a weekend retreat where our focus is to “find out where God is working and join Him there.” We will travel to about 9 different ministries in North and South Omaha to help us discover what our purpose and passion is.
In the past, we required that youth attend a retreat and complete eight hours of service work within the community or church. With this great ministry, we have changed our retreat and service hour requirements and have given you two options this year as listed below:
Option 1: Attend the Urban Plunge retreat and, following the retreat, write a one page double-spaced paper summarizing your experience and the ministry that you connected most with and how you will serve following this experience (one copy for Sharee and one for the Urban Plunge Ministry). NOTE: If you attended an Urban Plunge in 7th grade, we will organize a group service project for 8th graders which will also require writing a paper about your experience.
Option 2: If you do not complete an Urban Plunge or participate in the group service project, you will need to complete 16 hours of service within the community or church and complete a 4 page paper on a faith based ministry you would like to serve in that serves the world’s needs.
The Urban Plunge is offered on two dates and is limited to 12 youth per retreat. The dates set for The Urban Plunge experiences are: November 7-9 and (tentatively) February 6-8. This means that I will take registrations on a first come, first serve basis. So choose your date and make the payment to hold your spot. The cost for The Urban Plunge will be $45 per person (this will include food and housing). We will also need 2 to 3 adults on each retreat.
Note: Actual cost of an Urban Plunge weekend is $75/person + a $200 group deposit. The youth budget will make up the difference to make the experience more affordable, but anyone needing a full scholarship just needs to let Sharee know. (Of course, you’re welcome to pay the full amount should you like to help us stretch our budget!)
