Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Friday, July 13, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Baptist youth groups from half the country have gathered in Yellowknife this week to paint fences and clear brush in yards.

Sound strange?

Well, "Serve" is an annual undertaking where youth from a network of 174 Baptist churches in Western Canada pour into a different community every year and offer themselves up to work, while sharing their faith with each other and anyone else who wants to join.

One of Serve's organizers, Ryan Sato, describes the gathering as "an event where we want students to simply serve, and live out their faith by doing good work."

And that's what they're doing in Yellowknife. The group has split into several teams, each doing things such as painting a church in Dettah, clearing brush around the Yellowknife Ski Club, painting the Anglican Church's fence and running some events for younger kids. They work in the daytime, and then spend their evenings attending group worship events that are open to all.

Sato said nearly 150 youth in total are in town, coming from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Ironically, Sato says there aren't any Yellowknife youth groups officially participating, but he cites a lack of centralized organization for the city's groups, and added that they are welcome to come to the evening events.

Sato said Yellowknife is the Northern-most community in their network, and that was what made it stick out to them this year. In this case, he says that youth leaders contacted Calvary Community Church and asked if they were willing to host the event. From there, members of Calvary hooked the group up with local organizations that needed work done, and also co-ordinated accommodations for the youth in three other churches as well as their own.

Serve participants Amanda Brace and Marshall Morgan have been enjoying themselves so far, after arriving from Regina by bus Sunday night. Their first impressions of Yellowknife are lasting ones.

"I love the scenery," said Morgan, and they both mentioned that the people have made a big impression so far.

"People we've run into on the street have welcomed us to Yellowknife," said Brace, adding that people have also been very encouraging to them about the work they are doing.

Morgan and Brace are in a group running a "VBS" or vacation bible school, where kids learn songs, do crafts and watch small plays put on by the Serve team. Morgan said they are hosting a talent show at Calvary on Friday night as well.

In addition to the general labour and VBS, Serve is also running a soccer and Tae Kwon Do mini camp in Fritz Theil Park.