Alwan Masih challenges youth to involve and transform

Youth are not only the future, but they are also the present and it makes a difference to know what they envisage their church to be tomorrow, says Alwan Masih, the general secretary of the Church of North India.

Addressing a youth conference in Nagpur, Masih pointed the need for Christian youth to come out with concrete proposals for the development of the church which he said will make it a "vibrant, witnessing and evangelising church".

He urged youth to be "equal stakeholders in the entire decision making at the higher level."

Further, he challenged them to "look back, introspect, take stock and collectively decide" as to where they want their church to be in years to come.

He suggests that youth should not depend on the borrowed or the enforced wisdom, but must embrace corporate contextual thinking.

The youth conference was part of CNI's 40 years anniversary celebrations from Oct. 11-14, 2010 in Nagpur. The gathering was themed "Arise and Shine: Youth in Mission Beyond 40". It brought together nearly six hundred youth from different regions of northern India, including Andaman and Nicobar.

Speaking on the occasion, Prem Masih, the Acting Treasurer of the Church of North India, expressed that over the years he observed a wide generation gap between the youth and the elders.

There is a need for the youth to understand and reduce this gap, enabling a more concrete and visible holistic participation, he said.

Masih also delivered the keynote address at the Lay Leaders' Conference attended by over a hundred leaders representing the 27 dioceses of the Church of North India.

As part of the celebrations, the Synodical Youth Fellowship Committee of the Church of North India is organising a "Youth Olympics" under the theme "ARISE".

The objective is to motivate young people through the medium of sports. This is the first time the Church is organising such an event.