The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

For the purpose of strengthening the Body of Christ and sharing ideas among other believers, Christian youth leaders are encouraged to attend a special meeting tomorrow at the Mount Tabor Church.

Hosted by the Christian Youth Leaders Network, the goal of the meeting is to groom young people who have an interest in becoming Christian leaders or currently work with young people. The event will be held tomorrow between 10am-12pm.

Pastor Bjorn Burrows, president of the CYLN, told Tribune Religion that leaders working with youth should consider what they do a specialised area of ministry that requires one to be focused and sufficiently equipped.

“This meeting is the first monthly meeting of youth specialist/leaders that we will be having,” Pastor Burrows said. “We want to allow youth leaders from around the city to see what other church youth groups are doing; we then can coordinate our events. For example, if we know that another youth groups is doing the same thing, then perhaps one group can focus on something else. This gives a better sense of community and we can help to support one another.”

Although there are numerous groups and alliances in the Christian community, Pastor Burrows believes there is little connectivity among Christian youth leaders. However, those who attend will benefit greatly from the networking experience, he added.

During the meeting, Pastor Burrows said, informal reports of what it going on in Christian youth circles will be given. This information will help other leaders take strategic ideas to youth ministry.

“This is beneficial because youth work is so dynamic, the sharing of ideas and things that is working will help ‘iron to sharpen iron’,” he said.

“We have also partnered with the National Student Christian Movement and we are asking more churches to adopt a school. In this meeting we will be sharing more about this programme. We will be seeking to share ideas of what is working or not working in youth ministry in the Bahamas, outline the relationship between CYLN and Student Christian Movement and a general discussion of youth ministry.”

Pastor Burrows said young leaders should come because whenever such networking takes place, the Body of Christ is made stronger.

“This gathering of youth leaders in the network will help to only strengthen the Body of Christ. We do not need another ‘organisation’, but this is a network. CYLN is not another organisation, but truly seeks to be a network bring together Christian youth leaders from around the city. Organisations have doctrinal beliefs and usually strict organisational guidelines. CYLN is not trying to do that. Rather, we are simply subscribing to the outline of Christian ethics and morality that is according to the Bible,” he said.

The Christian Youth Leaders Network was founded by Pastor Burrows, who at the time was the youth supervisor of Bahamas Faith Ministries and had passed on leadership of the group to the late Pastor Lavard Parks.

Before his death in a plane crash which also claimed the life of Dr Myles Munroe, Pastor Parks set up a CYLN leadership team, which now has been carrying on the work he started.