Leaping into 2020
News


All this to say – a lot has happened. The way we gather and communicate has drastically changed in the last 20 years. The church has changed and evolved in the last 20 years too, but that hasn’t always included adjustments to include our youth.
What does all this have
to do with youth ministry?
On Feb. 29, 2020, LEAP 2020 was hosted at First St. Charles and Platte Woods. This was the first major youth event hosted by the Annual Conference since 2018. Many leaders and pastors have heard of other conference events like WOW or Exploration (the college age event hosted by the General Board of Higher Education.)
Our youth are deeply invested in learning. They understand complex topics better than we realize. They are leaders at school, in their communities and desire to learn and dig deep into what a life looks like led by the Holy Spirit. We knew that LEAP had to be different than what

In the fall of 2019, the NextGen office asked youth what they wanted to learn about. Their responses were directly reflected in the theme and breakouts of LEAP. We designed the event to be regionally accessible and planned by our local churches instead of from the conference platform. Our planning teams set a vision to serve the youth first by creating a Christ-centered event where they could lean into Isaiah 43:19:
“I’m about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

The NextGen office is challenging us to reimagine what youth ministry can look like. It’s not dying and our students are more than ready to be involved, we have to be willing to listen and respond. What new rivers are we making for our youth?