Life in Bloom

This post is part of the Day of Prayer and Blogging for Exploration 2011.  To see what people are sayingabout this event, follow #explo2011 on Twitter and join the event on Facebook!

Have ya heard?  Exploration 2011 is right around the corner!  Clueless as to what I’m talking about?  Well here’s a brief rundown:

Exploration is an event for 18-26 year olds to explore a call to ordained ministry in The United Methodist Church. This year’s event is November 11-13th, 2011 at the Millennium Hotel in St. Louis.  Exploration provides a chance to explore the call to ordained ministry through worship, prayer, workshops, networking, and small groups.  It has awesome worship, great preaching, fantastic music, wonderful small group reflections, and break out sessions to not only help you learn more about ordained ministry in the UMC but also provide tools to help you further explore your calling.

I attended Exploration a few years ago when it was held in Dallas, Texas.  It was a few months after I realized (what everyone else had apparently known for years) that God was calling me to serve as an elder in the UMC.  All that I learned at Exploration undeniably affirmed my calling, and along the way I made so many friendships with young adults from my own conference and other United Methodist conferences across the country.  I’m still friends with so many of the people I met that weekend, and it is a blessing to have met so many peers in ministry at Exploration!

I attended Exploration around the same time I was working on seminary applications.  Up until that point I wasn’t even certain I would apply to Duke Divinity School.  I ended up applying to 4 different United Methodist seminaries; after meeting all of the wonderful representatives at Exploration, I knew that each institution would be a great place for me to learn and grow in preparation for a vocation as an ordained minister.  Students from each of the seminaries serve as your small group leaders, and a few of them even serve on a question and answer panel where you can learn more about what the seminaries have to offer and how they differ from each other.  It really helped me in my discernment process, and I would recommend it to everyone.  In fact, you may even see me in a Duke shirt there (and I may be leading a small group!).  [Stop by and say hey!!]

If Exploration sounds like something you’d like to attend, talk to your pastor or your campus minister.  It had such a great impact on my life, my calling, and where I’m at today.  I absolutely recommend it, and there are scholarships available to help with funding.  For more information on the event, please check out Exploration’s Facebook page and website.

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!  Just leave a comment and I’ll be happy to respond.  I hope to see you in St. Louis in November!