PUC‘s Connect Ministries is an outreach ministry consisting of several individual teams of students who are passionate about Jesus in sharing His love by providing a worship experience. Their team’s vision is about Connecting One another, Nurturing New friendships with Everyone and Collaborating Together in Ministry. 

The mission is to reach out to communities in the Pacific Union Conference and minister to them through praise, worship, and the word of God, by uplifting their spirits and letting them know that PUC is supporting them. Each team can provide services such as leading out in church services, youth events, and other programs where they can inspire other young people to become worship leaders themselves. The goal is to connect with young people and showcase PUC’s presence and full support. 

PUC Enrollment Counselor and Connect Ministry Director Glanelle Marie Ejurango has been working hard this school year advising her teams on how to lead people through worship, music, and preaching. “We want to share our love for Christ and allow it to overflow into their lives, creating transformation and drive for growth in their spiritual life as well,” shared Glanelle. “Through Connect, we want to create a New Jerusalem, a new community that flows in many places.” 

What inspired you to lead this ministry?  

Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing, and Communication Gene Edelbach tasked me to take on this ministry and it worked out perfectly because I’ve been involved in various leadership teams in multiple ministries since I was nine years old. My mom’s a pastor and had trained me to do ministerial work from a very young age and didn’t stop keeping me involved until I began my studies at PUC. Taking all my years of training and being involved in various ministries, I applied what I’ve learned into laying down the foundations of how Connect Ministry could run as well as nurturing it with the hope that it will continue to grow and use for the Lord’s work. 

I would occasionally consult with my mom, and she likes everything shown her. She keeps telling me about how proud she is of what I’ve been doing and to “keep up the good work for the Lord.” 

In addition to my ministerial background, I have a deep passion for music. Using worship as a tool to spread God’s love to whoever is willing to listen is my greatest honor. A little bit about my musical background- I’m primarily an instrumentalist (cello, piano, guitar), but I also love and enjoy singing. At the end of the day I believe that God has prepared me all these years for this kind of work, and I honestly think that this may be my calling. I’m enjoying what I’ve been doing so far, and it has been such a great blessing to my life.

What are your goals for this coming school year with Connect Ministries? 

My biggest goal for the next school year would be to visit even more churches and academies than we’ve done this school year.  I’m also hoping to create a Worship Workshop/Boot Camp available to both our on-campus worship teams and inviting high school worship teams to participate. It will be a big project to develop, but I’m hoping it will be a successful one. 

Other than that, the main goal for this ministry is to simply keep doing what it’s been doing and maybe one day reach beyond the borders of the Pacific Union Conference. 

How can PUC students be a part of this ministry?  

As long as they have a passion for ministry, are musically inclined, and are willing to dedicate some of their weekends to going off-campus to visit churches and academies. Anyone can go to our website, sign up, audition, and be part of the team. 

We offer various scholarships to students who are interested in applying and who meet the minimum requirements. Our scholarship ranges from $1,000-$2,500 depending on which tier the student is interested in applying to. Each tier has its own specified requirements that need to be met and it’s currently in the works to being posted on our website, so be sure to keep an eye out for it. Anyone is welcome to join.

How does Connect Ministries benefit churches and academies? 

Through the joy of being blessed by an amazing worship experience and the fellowship we bring when we meet with the young people of any church or academy. Our goal is simply to glorify God and make genuine connections to those willing to be open about building a community for God’s kingdom. 

How can academies and churches be involved with Connect Ministries? 

Invite us to come and participate in any event you’d want PUC’s presence- whether for chapel, vespers, a Sabbath morning service, game nights, social/secular events, etc. Whatever it is, we would love to be involved and fellowship with everyone.

When we come, and the event requires an overnight stay, if they’re willing to house and feed us, we’ll be happy campers. We usually send out a small team with a maximum of 10 members for each visit/event. 

If your church or academy is interested in worshiping together with Connect Ministries, please fill out their visit form on their website. They would love to visit and connect with you.