Rockmont is a fixture in FBG’s Youth Ministry. Youth have been sojourning to and from this mountain paradise for decades, each individual no doubt coming back with wonderful memories to treasure and hilarious stories to share. Rockmont 2019 was no different. We spent a weekend surrounded by the noble peaks of Western North Carolina and by many of the beautiful people that make up this Youth Family. We were joined by Jaime Fitzgerald, CBF North Carolina’s campus minister to Appalachian State University and our proclaimer. Alongside the youth staff, Jaime conveyed this year’s theme to the 99 youth gathered at Rockmont, Here We Are: A Beautiful Mess. We all come to the table with unique messes. Both good and bad, these messes are a part of who we are and what we bring to the table. It is when all our messes come together and are accepted and valued for the beauty that they are that Church happens. We learn to see the beauty in our messes when we come to understand our sense of self, that we are all in process together, and that we are all made in the image of God. The Youth Family left Rockmont with a renewed sense of what it means to be in community together and with a brand new art piece demonstrating both the Youth Family’s messiness and beauty. If you stop by the Terrace Level of the AYMC this year, you will get a chance to experience our beautiful mess for yourselves.
—Will