First Impressions

There is no way the experience of the Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG) 2016 in Indonesia can be summarised in one word, one conversation, one power point presentation, or even one sermon. This blog seeks to highlight some of the aspects which made a lasting impression...

The campus where YLG was hosted

The Connection
The YLG Planning team was very intentional about ensuring that this was not going to be "just another conference". We started receiving information one year ago to help us prepare for what we would be encountering during the ten day gathering. An app was developed specifically to allow participants to connect with each other before, during and after we left Indonesia. This tool was tremendously useful in getting to know persons and the ministries they were involved in even before we met in person. In addition to the facebook page for participants, a whatsapp group was created, which facilitated even closer interactions. Every day there were hundreds of messages with persons sharing their victories and prayer requests, words of encouragement, facts about the state of the Church in different countries, and even a live news feed! (we learnt about major international events in this group before the stories hit the headlines)

WhatsApp group celebrating birthdays from last year till now!

It was a wonderful experience to be able to meet in real life the persons who we had been developing relationships with virtually. Everytime I met someone I had spoken to before arriving in Indonesia, it was like a grand reunion,even though we were meeting for the first time. There was a great sense of camaradie, as participants willingly shared their finances with those who were in need. There was a great sense of connection as everyone there had one common passion - to see the gospel advanced to the ends of the earth - even though we were all involved in different ways. It was a beautiful foretaste of heaven when we worshipped in different languages, and were able to set aside our denominational barriers to focus on advancing the kingdom of God in our generation.

Unity in diversity!

The Networking
The mission of the Lausanne Movement, the parent body for the YLG, is to connect influencers and ideas for global mission. The program was structured in such a way to allow for much informal interactions among participants, apart from providing formal sessions where we could meet in groups depending on the issues we were passionate about. Every conversation - the person you sat next to on the bus, the person behind you in the food line, the person next to you at the breakfast table - all had potential to develop into new ministry partnerships. There were numerous spontaneous meetings during the free time which allowed persons to develop deeper connections which will last long after YLG 2016 has ended.

Map showing participants at the Children and Evangelism workshop

The Testimonies
For many of the participants, getting to Indonesia was a victory over many hurdles - finances, visas, family commitments. It was very heartening to hear from persons from a closed country who were prevented by their government from attending the last Lausanne meeting just six years ago. We also heard the story of a super model who gave up the fame and fortune of that lifestyle to study theology so she could be more effective in sharing her faith with the lost. Then there was the guy who came from generations of radical extremists who encountered Jesus in a dream and gave his life to Christ even though it meant being disowned by his family. There was a woman who was imprisoned in solitary confinement for her faith, and relied on the Holy Spirit to bring back to her rememberance scripture verses, which she proceeded to write on the walls of her prison cell. Every night we heard from ordinary persons who overcame challenges in their lives and are faithfully serving Christ. This served as a reminder of the power of God to transform lives in miraculous ways.

Someone shared how they got saved after understanding why
this character made up of the symbol for "lamb" over the symbol
for "self" stands for "righteous"

The Honesty
One of the program elements was a daily leadership panel, where mature leaders were interviewed and shared their experiences. This was the session that I had expected to learn the least from, after being exposed to so many leadership training programs, as well as my own experience in leadership. However, the leaders on the panels shared very candidly about their struggles as leaders, not hesitating to admit when they got it wrong. They were willing to expose themselves, so we could not make the same mistakes they did. The mentors in our connect groups also made themselves vulnerable by not just sharing the 'good' parts of their lives. It was refreshing to hear from persons who were willing to share, not just their triumphs, but also their struggles.

Much was shared about the need to guard against burn out

The Prayer
Prayer is crucial for the success of any venture, and YLG was no different. From praying in our regional group calls prior to the conference, to the morning prayer in the hotels organised by participants, to the prayer room which was open throughout the day for those needing time to spend apart with God - YLG 2016 was saturated with prayer. The climax for me was the evening of prayer where we were invited to pray for each region represented. It was astounding how what the Holy Spirit led us to pray while we waited on Him was so much in line with what the participants from the region prayed afterwards. The presence of God was so tangible in the auditorium that night - we did not want it to end.

Praying for one another

The Challenge
There was such a wealth of information that was shared through each of the sessions, which I will elaborate more on in subsequent posts, but there were two major things which stood out of me:

1. The importance of discipleship. Jesus didn't call us to make 'converts' of all nations, but to make disciples - followers of Jesus. So many times we have programs where many people surrender their lives to Christ, but for one reason or another they end up falling away. I was challenged to be more intentional about discipleship in the various ministries that I am a part of.

2. The vast number of unreached people groups who do not personally know a Christian.There are still many who have never heard of Jesus, and too often priority is placed on ministering to those who have already heard. Am I doing all God has equipped me to do in advancing His Kingdom among these people groups?

The Culture
Our hosts demonstrated an overwhelming level of hospitality. There were smiling volunteers everywhere - from the time we landed at the airport, straight throughout the conference giving guidance and answering questions, until late in the night when we took our last shuttle back to the hotels. They served tirelessly, and with genuine joy. Their labour of love certainly would not go unrewarded.

On this rainy day they removed their shoes
so they could serve us better as they provided shelter

The conference organisers had advised against experimenting with street food, as not everyone's stomach was designed to handle that level of spicyness. One of my Brazilean friends who is currently serving in Indonesia did not want me to leave without experiencing that aspect of Indonesia's culture, so she took me to dinner where I had the most delicious meal I could remember - IT WAS SO GOOD!!!

Can't remember exactly what it was, but the taste was phenomenal

I had a crash course in the history and geography of Indonesia on one of my bus rides back to the hotel. I learnt that it is the largest Islamic country in the world, consisting of over 17,000 islands! There are many different regions, and each region has its own language, culture and traditions. Some of us were able to take a driving tour around Jakarta where we saw craft from many of the regions, as well as interesting sites like a large church which was built by Muslims!

Beautiful hand-crafted batik

Overall YLG 2016 was a truly amazing experience, and I was so grateful for the privilege to be a part of it. Thanks again to all who made this possible. There is so much more to share, so look out for additional blogs soon :)