Beth Thomas – St. Louis, Missouri … Many eyes are fixed on the business sessions and elections taking place inside the Dome at America’s Center, but a different kind of mission is quietly taking over the streets of St. Louis. Under the leadership of Busi Khumalo, General Conference (GC) Youth Ministries director, a dedicated team of young volunteers is making a difference—one garden, one street, and one book at a time. And they’ve got their work cut out for them.

This coordinated community outreach, known simply as Impact St. Louis, is a collaborative effort between the GC Youth Ministries Department and local leaders, including Tyrone Douglas, Youth and Adventist Community Services (ACS) director for the Mid-America Union Conference, and Byron Wright, Youth Ministries director for the Central States Conference.

Locally based, Wright was excited to partner with this effort. “Outreach and making the community better is really where my passion is, and so it was a no-brainer for me to get involved wherever I could,” says Wright.

When asked how this project was born, Khumalo shares, “In Youth Ministries, we have an initiative called Global Youth Day [GYD], which happens once a year. This event is basically an extension of GYD. Our slogan is ‘Be the Sermon.’ We want our young people to be the sermon in a practical way, folding their sleeves, getting their hands dirty, getting into the gutter, and making sure they impact the lives of those who are God’s people.”

His team reached out to the city of St. Louis to determine how the youth could help. “They helped us identify projects,” he says. “We want to put Christianity into practical terms. We want to walk the walk and talk the talk.”

One of Wright’s responsibilities is overseeing the garden outreach effort. Two community gardens, the Southside Wellness Center and the Fresh Starts Community Garden, are being beautified by a team of volunteers from Monday through Wednesday. City cleanup crews are hitting the streets each day through Thursday.

Maygen Daley, a young guest from the Bahamas, was on the litter crew yesterday. “It wasn’t bad; we were just cleaning up the streets. I was in a group with people from the Caribbean, so it was like being at home!”

Another group of volunteers is working with the ACS Supply Distribution Center, run by the Mid-America Union ACS team, to distribute essential items to families in need following an intense hurricane that struck the area in May.

Perhaps the most ambitious outreach project is the citywide book distribution planned for Sabbath, July 12. All the volunteers will work together to share uplifting literature downtown and around the iconic Gateway Arch.

The mission doesn’t stop when the sun sets, though!

Each evening, youth gather at the Marriott Grand Hotel for a mix of worship, mission-focused conversations, leadership advice, and social activities.

During a week filled with decision-making and Church Manual-shaping, these youth are reminding the church—and the city—what mission looks like on the ground. It’s sweaty, gritty work. And it’s exactly the kind of impact the world needs right now.

—Beth Thomas is an assistant editor for Adventist Review. Republished with permission from Adventist Review News July 9, 2025, article. Photo supplied.