It is 9 a.m. on Friday, the sun is blazing, and Gerald "Buck" Cunningham's two-story house in White Bear Lake is abuzz with activity.
More than three dozen teenagers from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Youth Gathering are on site to paint the Army veteran's house. They are spread across the garage, the backyard and the front, wielding brushes dipped in white paint, repositioning ladders and turning to adult leaders for guidance.
"I appreciate this. I really do," said Cunningham, 92, a World War II veteran who served as a truck driver and guard in Germany.
About 20,000 young Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) members from 13 countries have converged on the Twin Cities this weekend for the international gathering, a five-day event that includes worship services, community service projects and other activities for high school-aged church members. The conference is held every three years; this is its first time in Minnesota.
"It is the time for us to show support and care for young people," said the Rev. Mark Kiessling, director of youth ministry for Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. "They see that they have people across the globe who encourage them, pray and care for them. This is a sight they may not have seen in their home congregation."
The St. Louis-based LCMS describes itself as a mission-oriented, Bible-based confessional Christian denomination. Minnesota is home to around 160,000 baptized LCMS members out of nearly 2 million across the country.
The crowd at the Minneapolis youth gathering is big enough that Metro Transit sent out an advisory to transit riders to let them know the light rail would be busier than usual as participants make their way to U.S. Bank Stadium and the Minneapolis Convention Center, where multiple daytime activities and evening events are going on.
Cunningham's house is just one of 72 sites where thousands of participants are doing community service in the Twin Cities during the conference, which started Thursday and ends Monday.