The Losers (based on Jesus' words: "Whoever loses his life for my sake will gain it) is First Lutheran's youth ministry program for middle and high school students! We enjoy being together whether it's rock climbing in the woods or serving at a soup kitchen or drop in center in Erie. We like to stretch the comfort zones in a lot of areas of our life. Many of our students participate in canoe trips, retreats, working in soup kitchens, Operation Christmas Child, The 30 Hour Famine (yes, it is possible for teenagers to go 30 hours without food!) and mission trips (we've repaired houses in Pittsburgh, worked on the Heifer International Farm near Boston, done advocacy work in Washington, DC, served in Savannah, Georgia and this year we went to the Nashville, Tennessee area to help flood victims). We are also working with Operation Christmas Child (we load an 18 wheeler with boxes filled with shoebox presents) and the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign. We will also be going to the ELCA's National Youth Gathering in New Orleans in 2012 - in fact, we have 17 students registered already! When we went in 2009 we hosted a book fair at one of the local elementary schools!
The Losers is founded on the following ideas:
* we want to learn more about our faith and continue becoming the disciples Jesus wants us to be
* We want to serve and love God and people
* We want to have fun and grow as a family!
We also use the bible verses Micah 6:8 and Romans 12:1-2. Look 'em up, print them out and hang them somewhere where you will see them every day. They are good reminders of how we are to live for God and serve others!
