A conversation with Meredith Smith of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Youth Ministry
Since 2017, Meredith Smith has served as communication specialist for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) Youth Ministry in St. Louis, leading communication projects and content, including marketing, publications, social media, special projects, and event messaging. She also oversees logistics, creative programming, and daily operations of the LCMS Triennial Youth Gathering (the Gathering), which draws more than 20,000 youth and adult volunteers, special guests, and guest speakers from across the country and around the world. Here, Smith shares how the Gathering leaves a lasting impact on its participants and host city through volunteer service and community involvement.
This year marks the Gathering’s fifth time in New Orleans, with the last visit in 2016. What makes New Orleans a good host city?
New Orleans hospitality is simply unmatched. The city’s dedication to creating a welcoming, safe, and memorable experience for our youth and adults is part of what makes the Gathering in New Orleans special. From state-of-the-art facilities, like the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and Caesars Superdome, to the abundance of hotel options within walking distance, New Orleans makes planning this event manageable for all. We are consistently impressed by the hotel community and the ways they continue to renovate and expand their offerings to accommodate our event and budget.
New Orleans & Co. has been an outstanding partner. They know New Orleans deeply and, because we’ve worked together before, have a strong understanding of the scale, rhythm, and heart of the Gathering.
How does the Gathering provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity for young people to experience new cultures, attractions, adventures, and relationships?
For many participants, the Gathering is their first time traveling to a major city, so the experience of being in a place that looks, sounds, and feels very different from home is powerful in itself.
Each host city brings its own personality, and we work hard to help participants experience it meaningfully. In the lead-up to the event, the Gathering incorporates the city into pre-event communications and planning resources. These tools are invaluable for our congregational groups, many of whom build extra days into their travel plans to explore local attractions, museums, and restaurants. That extra time deepens their overall experience and helps them connect what they’ve learned at the Gathering to the broader world around them.
New Orleans is unlike any other city. From recommending restaurants and youth-friendly attractions to curating group excursions and developing a New Orleans microsite with discount options, New Orleans & Co. was instrumental in helping us highlight the city’s uniqueness.
Why is service an important part of the Gathering and to its host city?
While the Gathering has an economic impact on the host city, we want it to leave a lasting impact.
Our participants are passionate and eager about serving in the local community. We’re grateful for our partnerships with local organizations, and we are excited to have participants helping organizations at the convention center and sending out participants to help with projects in local communities. Seeing the often-immediate impact of service is very powerful for a lot of our participants.
How do you identify and choose service opportunities in the host city?
Our service opportunities are carefully curated in partnership with local organizations, many of which are nonprofit organizations. We begin these conversations years in advance, working closely to determine their greatest needs and how we might send out participants to help serve over three days.
New Orleans & Co. understands the city’s nonprofit landscape and our desire to serve others, which allowed us to collaborate well. In New Orleans, more than 5,000 participants signed up for offsite service events, partnering with dozens of local organizations to support and strengthen the community. Whether they were cleaning up parks, sorting donations, or working alongside local nonprofits, our youth embraced the opportunity to serve.
What message does it send to community officials, partners, and residents to see thousands of young people volunteering to make a positive impact outside of their own hometowns?
Young people are capable of great things. These young people aren’t just here to attend the Gathering; they’re here to celebrate the city, to learn, and, most importantly, to serve others in the name of Christ.
We regularly hear from city officials, hotel staff, restaurant owners, and local residents, who are struck not only by the sheer number of youth but also by their kindness, respectfulness, and gratitude. Our participants are eager to show appreciation to the host city, and that attitude leaves a lasting impression. It’s a beautiful reflection of what it means to live out one’s faith in everyday interactions.
How might these service projects motivate young people and adults to become involved in their own hometown communities?
We always say that the Gathering is more than just a five-day event. The service experiences at the Gathering provide a model of how we serve in response to Christ’s love. Our hope is that youth and adults leave the Gathering not only encouraged in their faith but also equipped and inspired to take what they’ve learned and live it out in their own congregations, schools, and communities. We intentionally connect them to other LCMS Youth Ministry opportunities like YouthLead, our teen leadership program, and LCMS Servant Events, which provide ongoing opportunities to serve in Lutheran ministries across the country.
