Those engaging in ministry have a challenging job. Competing demands, times of isolation, looking for and sometimes baking the crumbs to help the other beggars find food. It can be as unrelenting as it can be joyful.
When you’re in ministry with young people it can be even hard as often there aren’t many people around you or even nearby who know and understand the highs and lows of ministry with that glorious age group. This is why within our movement that the National Youth and Young Adults and Children’s and Families Coalition (NYCC) holds a special place for people are employed or engaged in ministry with young people in a Synod (or Synod-adjacent/Presbytery role), along with invitations to people within the life of the Assembly.
NYCC is a community where the participants engage together in sharing resources, telling stories, and supporting each other as people charged with leading the leaders of young people in ministry. It’s an annual in-person gathering that stays connected through regular Zoom calls for specific ministry streams and works within the life of the church to challenge and advocate for the place of young people within our movement, our councils, and our congregations. The hosting role for NYCC is shared among the group, with Queensland Synod hosting the previous gathering (thanks to COVID) in 2019, and VicTas hosting in 2024.
This year’s gathering was hosted by the Pulse team, and the group met in Bulayu House at the Centre for Ministry for three days of worship, prayer, community, conversation, and challenge.
At this year’s gathering there was further work completed on the Assembly’s intergenerational ministry framework, led by Chris Barnett (ARU), who the group also acknowledged for his 14 years ministry in VicTas and involvement in NYCC and will shortly end his contract with the Assembly and move into wider work within the Australian church. Jess Pinkerton (Queensland Synod) shared some of the important work she has been doing developing a discipleship framework specifically targeting young people.
Assembly Associate General Secretary Rev. Lindsay Cullen joined the group and acting as the representative of the President Rev. Sharon Hollis led a conversation about the upcoming National Young Adult Leaders Conference (NYALC). President-Elect Rev. Charissa Suli also joined the group on the second day of meeting and shared some of her hopes for her presidency and encouraged each person in their calling to serve the young people of our churches and the wider community.
Gatherings like NYCC encourage further collaboration across our Synods, especially for ministry with young people. Please continue to pray for the Pulse team (Jo, Joyce, Ofa, Molk) and any other paid or lay volunteers who care for and minister to and with young people in your area. Their work is vital for a healthy, growing, discipleship-centric church.
Pastor Steve Molkentin , Young Adult ministry lead and Senior Pulse Field Officer
