Committee (left), with Rev Benjamin Fong and the YMLC participants
Having started in the year 2000, the organising committee for the Young Methodist Leaders Conference (YMLC) looked forward to planning a special 20th anniversary edition of the conference for the June of 2020, a YMLC that would revisit its original roots.
But with large-scale gatherings of any sort prohibited through much of 2020, much less overseas travel, the YMLC went on a yearās hiatus for the first time. Undaunted, the committee resolved to run the conference in June 2021. Amidst the prevailing measures of Phase 3 of the reopening, a plan was put in place for an in-person conference, and it appeared as though we were back on track. But a new cluster of infections emerged in May 2021, and Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) came knocking six weeks before the conference was scheduled to be held. The conference had to pivot to an online programme, another unintended (and unwelcome?) first for the YMLC.
Planning the conference amidst a pandemic has forced the committee to wrestle with hard questions about what the non-negotiables and distinctives of the YMLC are. Our soul searching led us to two distinctives that we felt were crucial to the YMLC brand: firstly, the intentional mentoring within mentor groups; and secondly, responding to the presence of God.
These two distinctives served to crystallise many of the decisions that were being made, and to a large extent shaped the conference and its programme. Because mentor groups were non-negotiables, time and virtual space had to be carved out for sharing and fellowship within smaller groups rather than as a large plenary. The decision to keep the conference spread over three days, albeit without a night programme, rather than to squeeze everything within two days, was also to allow the group dynamics sufficient time to grow.
The second distinction of immersing delegates in the presence of God necessitated avenues for God to speak through His Word and prayer. The plenaries were crafted with this in mind, with speakers invited to draw the delegates into that conversation with God, followed by a time of individual prayer ministry with a pastor.
This yearās Conference centred around the Wesleyan doctrine of Holy Loveāthe love of God that perfects us and enables us to love the world. This two-fold step of experiencing the perfecting grace of God and then enacting it in our community was reflected in the plenary sessions. This included explorations into the Wesleyan doctrine and cultivation of Christian perfection, which served as the foundation for exploring the difference Christians are called to make in the world. Three young panellists were invited to share how they enacted holy love in the context of societal issues with whatever God had already given them. Guest facilitators were also invited to help the delegates dream and ignite conversations that opened minds to the realm of possibilities available to the Church in enacting the Kingdom of God.
One consistent fruit of the YMLC has been the discernment of the call into full-time ministry, and this served as part of the broader call to live lives surrendered to Godās holy love. Breakout rooms were created and themed based on different aspects of ministry, and delegates were encouraged to wander these rooms and ask the questions theyāve always wanted to ask about full-time ministry.
The team serving on the livestream had to adapt to ministering over a camera than to a live congregation. The ideation seminar pushed the online collaboration tool to its limits, and a few delegates experienced technical issues participating in the creative process. Some good conversations arose, technical limitations notwithstanding.
Despite the limitations of being conducted entirely online, God was still ministering to the delegates, and more time than expected was spent in prayer throughout the conference. Anecdotal feedback from the delegates has been encouraging, and I pray that the delegates will return to ministry in their respective local churches with a renewed sense of Godās purposes for this world He loves.
A version of this article originally appeared in the July 2021 issue of OnTRAC, a publication of the Trinity Annual Conference. Reproduced with permission.
Rev Benjamin Fong is Vice-Chairperson of the Young Methodist Leaders Conference (YMLC) Committee / Photos courtesy of YMLC