What important things is the Lausanne Movement doing now that its fourth general world congress, held last fall in Korea, has passed?

I was told I would get exciting answers to that question from Justin Schell, director of Lausanne’s Younger Leaders Generation (YLGen). I wasn’t disappointed.

Schell has had a streak of visionary idealism—he calls it “holy naivete”—ever since becoming a Christian as a university student. When he heard that only 2 percent of US missionaries were serving among Muslim peoples, his response was “send me.”

As a Gordon Conwell seminary student preparing for mission, Schell attended the 2006 Younger Leaders Gathering in Malaysia, where he built a close relationship with Michael Oh, now Lausanne’s CEO.

In 2013, when Schell returned from overseas for family health reasons, Oh invited him to participate in the planning for Lausanne’s 2016 Younger Leaders Gathering in Indonesia (initially scheduled for 2015 in Ukraine, but delayed due to the Russian invasion).

Oh urged the group not just to plan a week-long event for young leaders, but to make that event the start of a long-term Lausanne investment in developing these leaders.

[destacate]Young people want a mentor with whom they can be honest about their struggles. That’s not something new—it’s just that other generations never realized they could ask older people for support[/destacate]The group decided on five forms of ongoing support: mentoring, integration into Lausanne’s work in their region, connection with the Lausanne issue-based networks they are interested in, regional and national gatherings, and a set of missional resources ranging from training webinars to scholarships.

Since then, YLGen has held nearly 100 webinars and facilitated two dozen discussion cohorts.

In the last three years, two additional intensive development programs have been launched: the Lausanne Leadership Journey, an 18-month program for people who hold or expect to move into complex leadership roles, and the Lausanne Emerging Theologians Initiative, the first cohort of which met during Lausanne 4 in Korea.

When I invited Schell to discuss what he has learned about training young leaders, he countered by emphasizing what today’s young leaders have in common with everyone else.

“When I talk with them,” he explained, “they say they’re lonely, anxious, or struggling with impatience, sexual sin, or pride. The things burdening their souls have been around since the book of Genesis. We have a tendency to be looking for the next big thing in mission, but the most important things don’t change, and if you focus too much on the pieces that do change, you’ll get off track”.

“So I encourage Christian leaders, while remaining cognizant of the unique features of Gen Z, to major on the majors. The churches I’m familiar with that are growing significantly among adults age 18 to 28 are the ones emphasizing God’s Word”.

“Young people want a mentor with whom they can be honest about their struggles. That’s not something new, it’s just that other generations never realized they could ask older people for support. With this new emphasis, younger people feel more free to ask.”

[destacate]Attendance goals for Sao Paulo are 1,200 younger leaders and 250 mentors. They are also recruiting fundraising coaches for young leaders who need help in raising support for their participation[/destacate]With the next Younger Leaders Gathering scheduled for March 2027 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the first major Lausanne event ever held in Latin America—Schell offered interesting comments about Lausanne’s relationship with that continent.

“As I interact with Latin American leaders, I hear two different histories,” he stated.

“For some people, Lausanne is all about collaboration to reach the unreached; for others, it is a champion of holistic mission, especially because of the influence of Rene Padilla. But because holistic mission can be interpreted in many ways, from building water wells to guerrilla action, some Latin Americans have seen Lausanne as a political movement”.

“I’m not sure that Lausanne’s leadership has always fully grasped these dynamics, but there seemed to be a gap between what Lausanne actually was and how it was perceived. We have been trying to mend relationships, learn, and move forward. The younger generation has inherited some of the conflict from previous generations and will have to decide what we will do with it.”

Schell explained that instead of trying to attract people to a big event and then persuade them to participate in long-term training opportunities, this time YLGen is flipping the sales pitch by marketing the long-term relationship.

“We’re encouraging people to commit to the journey, and the event is just the start of that,” he said.

From his perspective, the new approach is prudent. About one-third of the 2016 Younger Leaders Gathering participants have remained engaged, “and the growth we are seeing in that one-third is amazing. We want to find young leaders who desire that access to leadership development resources.”

Schell says attendance goals for Sao Paulo are 1,200 younger leaders and 250 mentors. He is also recruiting fundraising coaches for young leaders who need help in raising support for their participation. “We don't want any younger leader left behind because of funding problems,” Schell said.

You can recommend a younger leader to attend the 2027 gathering at the YLG 4 nominations page.

Appreciative comments from YLGen participants

Maria Kamran (Pakistan) and her husband are co-leaders of Act4Him, an arm of their related information technology firm that equips underprivileged young adults with a combination of technical and spiritual training.

“I never imagined my career would transform into a calling, and that my workplace would become a space for evangelism,” she said. “But God used the Lausanne Movement—specifically the 2019 Global Workplace Forum and my ongoing journey with YLGen—to completely shift my perspective.

“My learning through the Lausanne leadership journey has been deeply spiritual and profoundly practical. God expanded my network to include young professionals, and I started seeing healing, restoration, and purpose ignited in their lives because of the same love, mentoring, and spiritual investment I received through Lausanne.

“The Lausanne Movement taught me that you don’t need a big title to make a big impact. I thank Lausanne for believing in ordinary people like me, and I pray that I can continue passing that blessing forward in Pakistan and beyond.”

Marion Ndeta, a development and advocacy specialist in Nairobi, earned her master’s degree and is now pursuing a doctorate in organizational change and administration with YLGen scholarship support.

She commented, “YLGen is not just a program—it is a Christ-centered community of peers who walk alongside one another in growth, learning, and mission. Through this experience, I have engaged in peer learning and cross-cultural exchange with passionate young leaders from across the globe.

“I am forever grateful for a lesson on time budgeting that has gone a long way in helping me integrate work, school, and marriage/family into my personal life. It sorted out the chaos in my life, and I have never looked back. I have learned about board management and general leadership principles through the board and strategic leadership group, gleaning wisdom from peers and experts such as Gary Hoag of Global Trust Partners.

“I have gained global dexterity, equipped to navigate diverse cultural settings with sensitivity and purpose. I have also gained spiritual clarity and renewed purpose in God’s mission.”

“YLGen has given me access to the highest-quality training I could ever have imagined, and to a global network of exceptional servants of God who have had a significant impact on my personal life, that of my family, and in my ministry through collaboration,” said Daniel Kyungu, a Congolese pastor who has been featured by the Joni and Friends disability ministry.

Bami Betiku credits the peer mentoring he has received since 2016 and the Lausanne Leadership Journey with equipping him for an enhanced role with the Navigators ministry in Nigeria.

Colleagues selected him for the Navigators’ national leadership team, stating, “We know you have a lot to contribute because we have seen your growth.” Betiku is part of the planning team for the Sao Paulo conference.

Clara (name changed) is academic team lead at an innovative theological education organization in China. “Theological reflection is and should be contextual,” Clara stated.

“The Lausanne Emerging Theologians Initiative intentionally builds an international cohort that does theology together, inviting everyone not only to engage with the lectures but also to contribute to each other’s learning. This is significant for me and stretches me to grow both locally and globally. I came to realize the need to reflect more deeply on my cultural heritage, and to learn to communicate the somewhat unique spiritual tradition and theological perspective the Chinese church has developed over decades of being cut off from the larger body of Christ. On the other hand, my YLGen involvement helps me maintain a perspective beyond our national context, counterbalancing the tendency to emphasize contextual issues over globally shared concerns and opportunities.”

Bruce Barron, author or coauthor of seven books on religion and politics and a former US congressional aide, was editor of the World Evangelical Alliance’s theology journal from 2018 to 2024. Subscribe to his blog at brucebarron.substack.com.