North American Young Adult Fellowship

2008 Report to Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly

The North American Young Adult Fellowship (YAF), a shared ministry of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA, has been in existence since 2001. Its purposes are:

1. To assist young adults in becoming more active in congregational life and to assist congregations in reaching young adults.
2. To connect with colleges and seminaries in order to assist and be assisted in the wider purposes of young adult ministry.
3. To provide resources for both young adults and congregational leaders on issues and concerns important to young adults.
4. To assist regional denominational staff in building networks among young adults in their constituency.
5. To gather young adults together in an annual gathering for inspiration, nurture, encouragement, discussion, and action, and to encourage them to become more involved in church life and building bridges across the generations.
6. To be the body that helps church-wide agencies call and encourage young adults to serve as staff, board members, pastors, and in other leadership capacities and to continue the bi-national relationships that young adults feel are so important.
7. To aid in guiding national staff and programming designed for young adult ministry.

While we consider other avenues for carrying out these purposes, the majority of our efforts are focused on the annual Young Adult Fellowship retreat which takes place sometime between the end of September and the beginning of November. The location varies from year to year between Canada and the United States and from east to west.

The 2008 Young Adult Fellowship retreat, “Rise Up,” was held Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 at Camp Overlook, near Harrisonburg, Va. The retreat used a participant-driven discussion format called Open Spaces to identify, discuss and plan responses to the issues most important to American and Canadian Mennonite young adults today. The three issues given highest priority were church welcome (or lack thereof, at times), quarter-life crisis (more about this on the back cover of the December 2, 2008, issue of The Mennonite), and disagreeing well.

Here is some of the positive feedback we received from retreat participants:

• “…we were able to sort through what is really pressing for us and glean wisdom…”
• “[My highlight was] seeing that there is still a powerful value in our spirituality and church life amongst our generation, as well as energy to increase this.”

Out of the 20 responses received from participants, 19 identified tackling young adult issues and/or connecting with other Mennonite young adults as the highlight of the retreat. We could not be more excited about that outcome.

However, the following response reflects another common refrain:

• “I feel like [this] was organized quite well. We just need to find a way to get the word out about it.”

This response was not surprising. For years, advertising has been our biggest hurdle. We believe you, the delegates, are one of our biggest allies in getting the good word out to the young adults of our church.

Here are some ways you can help:

1. Every year we send an e-mail with a retreat poster and registration form to each Canadian area church and U.S. area conference. Watch for information about the 2009 Young Adult Fellowship retreat coming your way this summer and help others in your region be aware of and engage in this event.
2. The YAF planning committee is convinced that we will not be fully meeting our mandate until we have representation from each area church/conference at the annual YAF retreat. When you receive the registration form, identify at least one young adult in your region or congregation who could go. Offer funds to assist your young adults to attend.
3. Since there’s more than just regional diversity in our church, consider the racial and ethnic diversity in your region or congregation when you choose young adults to sponsor. As part of our mandate, we hope for more participation from our Latino, Chinese, Vietnamese, First Nations, Laotian, African-American, and other underrepresented young adults.
4. For YAF to have the most tangible impact on the Mennonite church, it also needs to have a positive regional impact. Work with young adults in your region and congregation, especially those who have attended these retreats on your behalf, to establish a regional young adult council with regional young adult events.
5. Place the oversight of this council into the job description of a regional denominational staff member. Experience shows that young adult involvement in the church is only sustainable when it is made an area of priority for a staff member.

Despite serving as Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA’s young adult arm for close to 10 years, YAF is still introducing itself to many. If you want to know more about who we are, what we do, and how we do it, please contact us. Dave Bergen at the MC Canada office (1.866.888.6785; dbergen@mennonitechurch.ca) and Scott Hartman at the Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership office (1.866.866.2872; scotth@mennoniteusa.org) are two great people to start with.

Our most recent retreat was filled with passion and hope. It was a welcome reminder that in a time when many express anxiety over declining church membership numbers, the young adults of our church hold the potential of a bright future for the Mennonite church in Canada and the United States. With your help and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, this bright future can be realized.

Young Adult Fellowship Committee:

• Peter Epp (Oregon)
• Alissa Bender (Alberta)
• Dave Maurer (Ohio)
• Jill Swiers Baker (Oregon/Minnesota)
• Jessica D. (Manitoba/Ontario)
• Scott Hartman (Indiana/Mennonite Church USA staff representative)
• Dave Bergen (Manitoba/MC Canada staff representative)