‘Life changing.’ These are the words some participants used to describe the 2016 Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering in a meeting just a few days ago with their Regional Director.
Over 1,000 younger leaders and mentors from more than 140 countries gathered in Indonesia for YLG2016 in August.
Expectations of these younger leaders were extremely high. And still they were surprised at how the YLG impacted their lives.
‘World changing.’ This is our hope. As one life is changed, the lives of those around them are changed. Churches are changed. Schools are changed. Neighborhoods are changed. Societies are changed.
That can only happen by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we believe we saw his power at work at the YLG and through the lives of those whom he led to come alongside us in prayer, finances, and other crucial ways for the YLG.
82% of YLG participants have already accepted the invitation to continue as part of the Lausanne Younger Leaders Generation (YLGen), a ten-year commitment to journey with participants as they continue to mature as Christ-like leaders for global mission. More are still signing up.
I want to share a few other incredible figures with you. These numbers are based on surveys before and after YLG2016, completed by more than half of the participants.
Before YLG2016:
- 87% of participants made friends or connections amongst themselves due to the extensive preparatory materials and interaction planned.
- 21% of participants connected with a Lausanne issue network prior to YLG2016, and 59% of participants connected with an issue network for the first time at YLG2016. Combined, that’s 80% who connected with an issue network before or during YLG2016.
As a result of the YLG2016:
- Over 70% of participants have entered into a new partnership.
- Over 79% of participants are developing six or more new significant relationships.
- 84% of participants connected regionally and intend to stay connected.
Across generations at YLG2016:
- Over 53% of participants rated the experience of either connecting with a mentor or seeking wisdom from senior evangelical leaders as among their top three aspects of YLG2016.
- 864 separate one-on-one meetings were scheduled between younger leaders and mentors, and we know countless other one-on-one meetings were scheduled informally using the Connector app. An incredible number of connections between generations!
See a glimpse of some special experiences at YLG2016 through these videos:
- YLG2016 Summary Video—A quick six-minute overview of the participants, speakers, and connections made at the gathering.
- Supporting 7 Languages at YLG2016—Groundbreaking support across language barriers.
- The Connector App—Perhaps one of the most talked about features of the gathering was the mobile app used by nearly every attendee.
We’ve also started releasing recordings from the main plenary sessions. More will be released in the following weeks, but here are the five Bible expositions which took us through the biblical narrative around the theme of ‘United in the Great Story’:
- Richard Chin—Cultivating God’s World
- Anne Zaki—Turning from Idolatry
- Richard Chin—Responding to Redemption
- Anne Zaki—Restoring Peace
- René Breuel—Going for God’s Glory
And finally, here are some of the people and connections of YLG2016 captured through nearly 400 photos.
We saw God’s power at work at YLG2016! These numbers, videos, and photos are testimonies that declare God’s work. But we know that he has done much more than we can see or know or count, and we know there will be still more to come.
As we transition from the YLG gathering to the ten-year YLGen commitment, we continue to ask for your prayers of hope and faith in all God will do for his glory and his mission in the world.
For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. —Psalm 100:5