Add-on: SERVE

SERVE invites participants to step beyond the Gathering and into the heart of the Twin Cities community. This add-on will be an all-day experience broken into two parts: SERVE and Creating an ACTION Plan.

Through partnerships with local organizations, participants will spend part of the day engaging in hands-on service — meeting neighbors, listening to stories and learning from the people who call Minneapolis home.

For the second part of the day, groups will explore what it means to live out our Lutheran call to accompaniment: walking alongside others with humility, curiosity and love. Together participants will begin crafting an action plan to bring what they’ve learned back to their own communities in meaningful, authentic ways. Your group will walk away with organizations you’d like to connect with and a plan for continued service.

SERVE is a first-come, first-served program offered only on Monday, June 28, 2027. Only 4,000 spots are available. Register during Priority Registration for a better chance of participating. All participants within a congregational group (except for those attending MYLE or the tAble) will need to register for SERVE.

The cost for this add-on program is $100 per person, which covers the following:

  • Three hours of hands-on service.
  • All supplies necessary for your project.
  • Lunch.
  • An orange SERVE T-shirt.
  • Transportation to and from your project site (if your congregation traveled by plane or train).
  • The interactive session for building your community’s action plan.
  • Floor seats for the Mass Gathering on Monday, June 28, 2027, at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Looking for promotional language to use when talking to your group about SERVE?

SERVE is a brand-new, all-day experience in which you’ll get what so many of you have asked for — more time to serve and connect with people in the community. You’ll spend part of the day doing hands-on service with local partners around the Twin Cities (the kind where you actually get your hands dirty!), then gather with other participants over lunch to reflect on and talk about how we can create real change back home. It’s about more than volunteering — it’s about living out our faith alongside others in authentic, lasting ways.

Spots are limited and assigned on a first-come, first-served basis — so don’t wait to sign up!