In July the wonderous movement of the Holy Spirit was experienced in Brazil.

From July 24 -29, Central Methodist Church in Londrina (Brazil), World Methodist Evangelism, Agência Malta Metodista, and many dedicated teachers worked together to host a regional young adult seminar called Metanoia.

The word metanoia has Greek origins and is defined as a transformative change of heart.

With the hope of cultivating leaders who will help build faith-sharing movements, Metanoia gathers together passionate young adults for several days of worship, study, and training. This gathering is a unique opportunity for these young leaders to connect with each other and with God, and to learn with others who are passionate about sharing the gospel. This experience, also allows these young people an opportunity to discern their calling as they are encouraged to live more fully as committed disciples of Jesus Christ.

These young leaders are the catalyst to motivate their generation to impact the world with greater courage and integrity on behalf of Jesus Christ. As they build relationships that extend beyond our own contexts, they expand their vision of God’s purpose for their lives.

Here is one testimony from our time together:

“I had high expectations for Metanoia. I had planned for my whole family to come but it didn’t work out. My daughter became sick about a week before we were set to leave. Very sick. What’s worse, we were told she would need to spend 7-10 days in the hospital. My family is most important to me, so this meant I might miss Metanoia. Since I was at the hospital for so long, I took the opportunity to share the gospel with other mothers who were also there with their kids. Meanwhile, I was praying for a miracle, for quick healing for my daughter, so I could attend. I prayed, put it in God’s hands, packed my bags, and kept praying.

After several days of uncertainty, my daughter was finally released from the hospital just a few minutes before I needed to leave! I was still nervous about attending Metanoia, but my husband and daughter told me to go. They said it was important for the relationships and to discern what God had for us next. I had felt called to serve orphans and widows in another country, but the timing for me and my family was not right, so I asked God to give me my next step. After attending Metanoia, I now have clarity on what’s next: to serve that same hospital where my daughter was cared for!“

– Loeci

What will it take to effectively help Wesleyan Methodist emerging leaders around the world build faith-sharing movements?

This is the BIG question we have been praying and dreaming with God about over the last year at World Methodist Evangelism. And we’d like to invite you to join us in our praying and dreaming because the stakes our very high when it comes to emerging leaders. We are absolutely convinced that the world is in desperate need of young men and women called to offer a better vision of hope for their lives and their communities.

I am excited to share some of the vision with you, our global family. More specifically, we’d like to share a few shifts we are making in response to this great challenge:

• From “one-off” events to a formation journey: Over the years we have hosted wonderful gatherings creating opportunities for leaders to connect and learn with others from different backgrounds, cultures, and traditions. These events have been very fruitful for participants, many of whom are renewed and even transformed by their experiences! However, effective leadership development happens through an intentional process and strategies which include, but are not limited to, single events. Our leadership development process will seek to identify emerging leaders (through relational and institutional networks), to connect leaders (through Metanoia events around the world), to equip leaders (through ongoing accountable cohorts), and to encourage leaders (through online events, new initiatives, and strategic partnerships).
• From centralized community to a “network of networks”: The task of helping leaders build faith-sharing movements is not one we believe God has called us to undertake alone! Instead, in this next season of ministry with emerging leaders, we are being challenged to multiply our efforts by connecting and partnering with networks of leaders around the world who share in our key values and purpose. We will collaborate, share resources, and learn from those networks. Additionally, we hope to expand our reach and our ability to identify emerging leaders through these key relationships.
• From western-driven to cross-cultural team-driven leadership: Finally, as we begin to enroll people into this journey, and as our networks develop and grow, we hope to build teams of talented young leaders with passion for evangelism and mission, as well as unique cultural perspectives. As the center of the Wesleyan Methodist movement continues to shift from the global North/West to the global South/East, we don’t want to miss out on the opportunity God is giving us to collaborate with and to learn from our sisters and brothers from different parts of the world where the Church is flourishing.