When Delmi Rohdearni Saragih, 28, in charge of partnership and education in Simalungun Protestant Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Protestan Simalungun, GKPS) in Indonesia, entered the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Youth Pre-Assembly in the northern Namibian town of Ondangwa prior to the LWF assembly, she felt happy. It was different from past experiences. Unlike other forums she has attended, all the participants were her age.
During the conference, from May 3 to 9, 2017, she had opportunity to share her stories and hear stories from other young delegates. They discussed their current context and how they envision the future. The essence of their stories was the need to encourage youth participation and leadership in churches.
Together with 120 other delegates and stewards, she was able to set the youth agenda and message to be forwarded to the Assembly. “The conference empowered many youth like me to take up leadership roles in the church, council and higher bodies,” she says.
Pre-Assembly message design: a consultative process
Saragih was particularly fascinated by the way the Youth Pre-Assembly message was designed. All the delegates were consulted to design the key message. “Following a series of consultations, the youth in attendance determined ‘revival of church, education and equity’ as the elements of our Pre-Assembly message,” she says. These elements were grasped well by all the youth and are their key commitments and call to action.
An encouragement for youth leadership
Saragih terms the Youth Pre-Assembly as symbolic for the encouragement of youth leadership in churches and councils. “Since youth have a high potential to lead and are rich in ideas and energy, youth participation in all the structures of churches and councils is important,” Saragih says. She thinks that young people’s energy and can-do attitude should be blended with the wisdom and experience of older people. She strongly believes that youth leadership can provide a new direction for the church.
She also shared that her church has given due priority to the issues of youth. “We have a practice to include youth in different structures of churches,” she says. In addition, the church has been implementing different activities targeting youth.
A key to empowerment
Following her participation in the assembly, Saragih feels that she is empowered. “I got an opportunity to meet church representatives my age and we developed a common message that unites us in our collaboration and joint action. This definitely promotes youth leadership,” she says.
On her return to Indonesia, she will share her experience from the Assembly and will be passing the Assembly message to fellow youth members in the church. “All my efforts will be to advocate for the voice of youth in different forums of the church,” she says.
LWF/Umesh Pokharel
