A US-2 serving in Detroit shares in the Young People’s Address at General Conference.
KAY DEMOSS
Senior Editor-Writer, Michigan Area
While only two young people spoke on the General Conference stage this morning, thousands more stood with them. Chelsea Spyres and Peter Cibuabua began their witness by identifying themselves as “ambassadors sharing young people’s voices from around the world.”
That voice declared the uncompromising nature of God’s love and grace for all people.
THEIR MESSAGE
The pair began by stating their purpose: “The objective of this message is to help you, our brothers and sisters in the church, to understand how widely and deeply the young people are engaged in Christ’s journey with energy and love.”
They then listed challenges faced by their generation as well as the solutions for building the church of God.
“Maybe God stops whispering and starts to yell,” Chelsea said as she called persons to move beyond their own personal intentions and goals in order to listen to “new voices longing to be heard.” She reminded the assembly of the uniqueness of each individual. “How would the church grow,” she asked, “if we encouraged each person to discern their calling, to discern where God is leading them to make a difference in the world? If we listened before we spoke?”
“Young people’s programming is usually one of the lower programmatic line items on a conference’s budget,” Peter observed. “In this way, young people are marginalized in the Church.” He listed ways the world’s young people are victimized by violence, war, disease, poverty, racism, sexism and child trafficking. Even so, “Young people are shaped by the good news of Jesus Christ.”
Chelsea challenged the Church to give God’s transformational love a chance. “No matter where you stand on questions of human sexuality,” she said, “we are called to love, and love before anything else.” She asked all present to accept persons “as God created them to be” rather than “trying to conform them to who we think they should be.”
Peter noted that today’s young people treat issues like homosexuality, “out loud.” He asked others to do so also, “with compassion and love, no matter what might happen.”
Peter and Chelsea lifted up The United Methodist Committee on Relief, outward-reaching congregations, and The Young African Leaders Summit as examples of transformational love at its best. “We are a Church of action, a Church that lives out our call to service,” Chelsea said. “It is this kind of response that draws young people into the Church.”
Other voices of youth were raised before the audience onscreen—how the church is weak as well as getting it right. Young people were seated on the stage who had also submitted videos during the year-long process that produced today’s address.
Peter offered a take-away in the form of a new slogan for young people: “Today First, Tomorrow Then,” instead of saying, “young people are the church of tomorrow.”
The remarks on stage concluded with a call to unity and an invitation to continued conversation across generations. “More than anything,” Chelsea remarked, “we hope you will connect with the young people in your own life and ministry.” Postcards were made available to delegates wishing to share words of encouragement and support; these may be dropped off at the Young People’s Lounge in the Convention Center.
THEIR STORIES
These two young people were nurtured, live and serve half a world apart and yet they professed a common message: “Be like Jesus and build relationships and love before anything else.”
Chelsea Spyres grew up in Delaware and now serves as a missionary in Detroit, Michigan. She explained that she began attending her home congregation at a young age with her grandmother, Nana. Methodist summer camp and mission work followed during her teen years. Chelsea spoke of her appreciation for the nurture she continues to receive from her home congregation in Newark, DE. “That family of faith allowed me to see how powerful the body of Christ can be, when the church is looking outwardly more than inwardly,” she said.
It was what she learned from them about “the power of relationships” that carried her to commissioning as a Global Mission Fellow (US2) in 2014. She credits her service at NOAH Project in downtown Detroit for showing her how powerful love really is. “Every day I get a glimpse of the Kin-dom here on earth through a bagged lunch and stories shared.”
Peter Cibuabua is from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. His faith story began in a Muslim household. “But it happened that I began studying in one of the United Methodist Schools in my home village.” His decision to start attending a UM Church, made him, “like a stranger in my own house.” Eventually he was baptized and confirmed. Like Chelsea, Peter notes, “I loved the preaching about love and grace.”
Today Peter is the Evangelist Chairperson and President of the young people’s ministry in his Annual Conference, showing others “when we have love, we can live above and beyond any situation with a neighbor.” Teaching English for free, speaking on the Methodist Radio, and cleaning the church “are still my favorite work in life,” he noted.
LISTENING CONTINUES
Just as the Young People’s Address ended with an invitation to listen, it was birthed with listening. In a press conference held soon after their address, Chelsea and Peter recounted the many phone calls that linked them over the past seven months.
They began writing last October aided by Skype and Google Docs. Given the eight-hour time difference between Detroit and Kinshasa, that involved, “many nights and many days,” according to Peter.
The two also reviewed all videos submitted to the Young People’s Ministry of Discipleship Resources by others. “We wanted to make sure that this was more than just our two voices,” Chelsea explained. A common theme emerged from their listening to what the world’s youth are saying: “Our prayer for General Conference is that everyone listen and come together around their differences in a healthy way.”
Peter and Chelsea’s own personal stories and those recorded voices of many others, provided the starting point for the Young People’s Address.
Carl Gladstone, regional staff person for the Young People’s Ministries Division of Discipleship Ministries, had the responsibility of developing and supporting the process that shaped the Young People’s Address. Videos were submitted and then a couple of rounds of online discernment and voting resulted in the choice of Chelsea and Peter as the in-person speakers at General Conference.
Carl says, “We are fully aware we could have had 50 people on stage and still not represent everyone. But I think we did a pretty good job of bringing those voices to Portland.” He said it was the strength of Chelsea’s ministry as a Global Mission Fellow and Peter’s great style of delivery that brought the two of them together as the ambassadors for the others.
Carl added, “For 2016 we really tried to ramp up our capacity to ask, ‘How can the Young People’s Address be more than 30 minutes on stage every four years?’”
To that end Young People’s Ministry is making the voices of young people witnessing to the Church available by podcast. These may be heard at https://umcyoungpeople.org/ or #umypa.
Last Updated on December 15, 2023