Global Youth Summit: just like family

Canadian delegate reflects on the Mennonite World Conference GYS 

September 22, 2015 | Web First
Deborah Froese | Mennonite Church Canada
Winnipeg, Man.
<p>With several other delegates, Chris Brnjas (center back row), Mennonite Church Canada&rsquo;s delegate to Global Youth Summit 2015, shared reflections of the event during one of the closing sessions. (Mennonite Church Canada photo)</p>

Chris Brnjas felt a deep kinship with fellow delegates to the Global Youth Summit (GYS) held in Pennsylvania July 17-19, 2015. In a report following the event he wrote, “We were separated by language, ethnicity, and even theological differences. And yet, we felt like family. One American delegate commented during the delegate sessions that he felt like he was ‘amongst my people.’”

Brnjas is a pastor serving through interim roles at Conrad Grebel University College and he is co-founder of Pastors in Exile or PiE, a ministry and blog serving those who seek God beyond church walls in the Kitchener-Waterloo (Ont.) area. He was invited by Executive Minister Dave Bergen (recently retired) to attend the GYS on behalf of Mennonite Church Canada.

The Anabaptist youth who gathered for the GYS—an event held in conjunction with Mennonite World Conference—shared remarkably similar concerns about the future of the church.

“The questions I heard most were ‘How do we maintain Mennonite identity in the face of overwhelming secularism?’ and ‘How do we keep our young people on fire for God with so many distractions?’” Brnjas wrote. “It didn’t matter from what continent these questions were posed, there was solidarity amongst delegates in this united struggle.”

They were passionate about living out core Anabaptist values too—like seeking God personally and practicing faithfulness in daily life and church community.

 “So much of Anabaptist theology—for Mennonites particularly—is rooted in being separate from the world,” Brnjas stated in a telephone interview. “That’s changing. I don’t think we know how to do that yet, but we’re learning.”

Brnjas said he envisions the future church as a stripped-down, deinstitutionalized Anabaptist community of faith within neighbourhoods and community spaces, where believers are is more connected with the community in their neighbourhood.

Strong connections didn’t prevent differences of opinion among GYS delegates, Brnjas noted. Those differences of opinion were often most obvious between North American/European delegates and those from other parts of the world.

He said that “white” westerners tended to lead GYS discussions. “It was a little bit humbling. I don’t think we realize just how much delegates from other countries have difficulty articulating their perspectives to us. We need to consciously limit ourselves in order to empower voices from all over the world.”

But just like families who sometimes disagree, “Ultimately at the end of the day you stay at the table.”

Brnjas and his wife, Rachel, are members of The Gathering Church, a Mennonite congregation in Kitchener.

Recorded GYS sessions can be viewed at http://pa2015.mwc-cmm.org/gys-live/

See also “Global Youth Summit calls young people to share gifts” 

See coverage of the MWC assembly, which followed the Global Youth Summit. 

With several other delegates, Chris Brnjas (center back row), Mennonite Church Canada’s delegate to Global Youth Summit 2015, shared reflections of the event during one of the closing sessions. (Mennonite Church Canada photo)

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