06/02/2026
Mission Center: A Conference Wide Multi-Cultural Youth Mission Experience
The Central District is excited to announce Mission Center: A Conference Wide Multi-Cultural Youth Mission Experience, taking place June 21–27, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. This unique week-long mission opportunity invites youth from across the district to engage in meaningful service, build lasting relationships, and experience the power of Christian community without ever leaving home.
Too often, mission work is viewed as something that only happens in distant places. Mission Center challenges that notion by helping young people discover that God is already at work in their own neighborhoods and communities. Through hands-on service projects, worship experiences, fellowship, and leadership development, participants will learn that discipleship begins wherever God has planted them.
Youth will serve at several impactful ministry sites, including Burns United Methodist Church, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and Families Forward. These opportunities will allow participants to address real community needs while developing a deeper understanding of service, justice, compassion, and the call of Christ to love our neighbors.
This experience is especially important for youth because it moves faith beyond the walls of the church and into action. Young people will gain practical leadership skills, strengthen their spiritual foundations, and develop a greater appreciation for the diversity of God's people. As they work alongside peers from different churches, cultures, and backgrounds, they will experience the beauty of the United Methodist connection and the strength that comes from serving together.
The week will include worship, devotionals, service projects, team-building activities, and a day of recreation at an Iowa Cubs game. Participants will stay at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, creating a camp-like atmosphere that encourages relationship building, spiritual growth, and lifelong memories.
Mission Center is more than a mission trip, it is an opportunity to cultivate a generation of young disciples who understand that serving Christ is not an occasional event but a way of life. By engaging in mission at home, our youth will discover that they have the power to make a difference in their own communities while growing closer to God and one another.
We invite churches throughout the Conference to support this important ministry through prayer, participation, volunteerism, and financial sponsorship. Together, we can empower our youth to become courageous leaders, compassionate servants, and faithful disciples who are transforming the world for Jesus Christ.
"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." — 1 Timothy 4:
