Already the Church: Youth Find Their Voice at Annual Conference
By Nora Meeks
It is a phrase heard again and again, in churches, in youth groups, and at Annual Conference, “Youth are the future of the church.” But the youth at the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference this year believe youth aren’t the future of the church; they already are the church.
“I feel like the first time we said the youth are the future of the church it was nice and it got people going,” says Ryan Taylor, a young adult representative and ambassador for Advocacy and Action. “But now they are the church. That sentence makes it seem like it’s about to happen, but it’s already happened.”
Ryan Taylor has been coming to Annual Conference for seven years, and she has seen a lot of change in that time.
“My first year, that group of youth was larger, but they didn’t have voting rights, and they couldn’t really do anything; they were just there,” Taylor says. “Now these youth are involved in worship, they're speaking and they're voting and they're actually engaged.”
This is Peace Osuji’s fourth year at conference; she agrees that youth are already part of the church.
“People think we aren't paying attention, but we are. We know what we are voting for and we care about what's happening,” Osuji says. For Addie Lyle and Emma Cowger this is only their second year attending conference but they hope to keep coming back for many years. They see Annual Conference as an opportunity to experience church in a different setting, to be able to have new unique experiences and bring those experiences back to their churches. Lyle is the only youth in her hub that goes to Annual Conference. She sees this as an opportunity to share what she learned and experienced with her hub.
“I can channel in and talk more deeply with other people in our hub.” Cowger agrees. She sees attending Annual Conference as a privilege and a chance to represent those who are unable to attend.
“You feel the accomplishment of knowing that you got other people’s voices heard who weren’t able to come to conference.”
Mariah Butler agrees, as a fourth-time attendee to Annual Conference, she enjoys both the responsibility of voting but also the fellowship among the youth.
“We show up to represent young people across different districts,” Butler says. She sees Annual Conference as a way for youth across the conference to get to know each other. “Because we are all so different, we connect even more.”
For Kennedi Agnew, this was her first time at Annual Conference. She is president of United Campus Ministries at Frostburg State University. For her, the Annual Conference looks like meeting new people and teaching them about campus ministry and what it does. As a first-time attendee who is used to being surrounded by young people, she says Annual Conference is definitely a different experience for her.
“I appreciate the fact I get to meet so many people within the church, and I get to connect and have a bunch of different conversations,” she says. Agnew plans on coming back to Annual Conference in the future.
When it comes to the future of the church, all the youth agree: they are going to be there. Ryan Taylor was instated as the Chair of the Young Adult Council in 2024, a group that had not been active in many years.
“I didn’t want it to collect dust anymore,” Taylor said. She intends to use her position to create a safe space for young adults to engage with God and each other.
Peace Osuji sees a future where the church exists outside of the four walls of a sanctuary. Youth are connecting through social media, hosting online church services on TikTok Live, and even in video games like Roblox.
“You can connect with God in a restaurant, getting coffee, even in an elevator,” Osuji says. “It’s not about place or numbers, it's about how people are engaging with God.”
For some of these, it was their first time attending Annual Conference. Some are seasoned conference veterans, having come for the past six years. No matter how many times they have attended, all the youth agree, Annual Conference is a place for youth, and it is only continuing to grow.