Fully Known, Deeply Loved – and Ready to Lead

By Rev Paul Clark, Dean of Formation, Trinity College Queensland

There were very few dry eyes left in the room as teenagers stood to declare they wanted God to come first in their lives. In that moment, I felt God was giving me a glimpse into the future of the Church.

Over the school holidays, my wife and I had the privilege of joining 70 young people from the Brisbane Taiwanese Uniting Church at their Arise Youth Camp. Around 40 teenagers were led by 25 young adults over three days at Camp Somerset.

Alongside the games, workshops and sporting activities you would expect at any youth camp, the young people explored Psalm 139:14 through the theme, Fully Known, Deeply Loved. The Arise Youth band led powerful worship, and the speaker shared his own journey of discovering that he was fully known by God and deeply loved, despite searching for fulfilment in places like sport, success and romance.

At the end of the camp, nearly three-quarters of the young people made a commitment to Christ. The sense of God's presence was palpable. There were very few dry eyes left in the room.

But what made me think I had seen the future of the Church wasn't simply the response of the teenagers. It was the young adults who had invested so much of themselves to make that response possible.

For three days they sacrificed sleep, time and energy so that every young person would know they were heard and held in the heart of God. Their leadership was humble, competent and deeply Christlike. Watching them, I couldn't help but think that from among these young adults will come not only future leaders of the Taiwanese congregation, but future leaders of the wider Uniting Church.

These young adults know what it means to live in a complex world. They move naturally between the culture of their parents, the culture of Australia and the culture of the Church. They are not simply multicultural; they are also multigenerational. Under the leadership of Pastors Sam Miao and Jane Tseng, they are learning what it means to minister in that "third space", where no single cultural framework is sufficient and where faithful ministry requires humility, flexibility and love.

At camp, almost everything happened in two languages. Most of the young people spoke English, but not all. Most spoke Mandarin, but not all. Instructions were given in both languages, especially the important ones about when the lights were going out!

I found myself in awe as I watched the leaders prepare, pray and care for the young people, effortlessly switching between English and Mandarin depending on what they were saying or who they were speaking to. While I was giving my talks, one of the young adults sat to the side, instantly translating for several teenagers who had only recently arrived in Australia and didn't yet understand English, or my cricket jokes.

What struck me most was that none of this seemed extraordinary to them.

Where others might see Australia's multicultural reality as an obstacle, they simply saw ministry. They embraced the complexity with joy and laughed gently at me when I suggested what they were doing was remarkable. Yet it is remarkable. In a world where Politicians struggle to bridge cultural divides, these young Christians were doing it instinctively, graciously and for the sake of the gospel.

As I watched them, I couldn't help but think of Revelation 7:9–12, a vision of every nation, tribe, people and language gathered before the throne of God. These young leaders are not waiting for that vision to become reality; they are already living it.

The Uniting Church speaks of being a people beyond culture, status and gender. At Arise Youth Camp, I saw that vision embodied. I believe I caught a glimpse of the future of the Church, and it is in very good hands.

The photos below taken by Samuel Miao: