Youth delegates sought for Annual Conference

By Jessica Brodie

Do you know a high schooler who would make a good delegate to Annual Conference?

South Carolina Ministries with Young People would love to talk to them—and provide training on how they can be a part of the South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church’s annual gathering.

SCMYP is rolling out a new program to invite youth delegates from every district to have a voice and vote at Annual Conference.

Called the Annual Conference Youth Delegate program, Congregational Specialist Chris Lynch said the idea arose out of a conversation he had with the Revs. Emily Kirby, Maggie Cantey and Katie Brock to bring younger voices to the table and enable them to participate in Annual Conference. They hope to identify a couple of youth from each of the conference’s 12 districts.

The youth would participate in a Saturday training in March and April to learn about Annual Conference and how it works, then participate in Annual Conference when it is held June 8-11 in Greenville, sitting together and sharing in the life of the denomination on a larger scale.

“I get annoyed when I hear youth are the ‘future’ of the church,” Lynch said. “It’s true, but we treat them as ‘when you are ready we’ll bring you in,’ instead of realizing they’re also the church right now. Any way we can create opportunities for them to shape the church is important. I think young people want to be part of shaping the church they are a part of, but often they don’t understand how to go about that.”

The youth delegates would be in addition to lay delegates named by each local church.

Kirby said the holy conferencing done at Annual Conference is a pivotal time when together we wrestle with what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and she thinks young people need to be included in a more active way.

“To exclude the invitation and respect of hearing the voice of our young people, we are not bearing witness to the fullness of the family of God,” Kirby said. “I often will remind others the youth of our churches are not only the future of the church—they are the church. With this critical truth it is our responsibility to disciple and lead them into the fullness of the call God has placed on their lives. For many, leadership in various forms within the local church is a part of that call.”

Lynch and the others on the team urge church members and pastors to consider high schoolers in their congregations and email [email protected] if they have questions or know someone who might be interested. Participants ideally will be rising high school juniors or seniors or recently graduated from high school.