NCM 2015 Lithuania

A short report from this year's NCM meeting, which took place last week in the Lithuanian capital in an Evangelical church+school building.

there were 11 European countries represented, where there is already a BiKa camp-type tinwork (SOLA in German). The members of the Youngstars backing (founding) organisation have to meet annually anyway, so we combined the good with the bad and used the time for training, networking and inspiration together.

The vision of YS (formerly Juropa) is to holistically evangelise, disciple young people - and support autonomous national teen ministry movements across Europe. It seeks to do this in 4 main areas: networking, promotion, coaching, training. It is essential to engage with young people as a whole person, so we use experiential pedagogical methods. Through experience and experience, they become Christ-following adults, keeping in mind the character-knowledge-practice triad.

The week-long meeting was well-scheduled. In the morning, we began the day with a morning devotional and spiritual community practice. Then we listened to the reports of each national movement and prayed for each other. Various discussions, presentations and seminars in the morning and afternoon helped to inspire us. There was also time for sightseeing (Vilnius) and learning about Lithuanian culture. In between, games and other stimulating activities made the time colourful and enjoyable.

The following topics were discussed: - YS ministry basics, methodology- Youngstars-Wikii- holistic growth- competence development- finance- YS principles for mission building- regional meeting: central Europe region Switzerland, Austria, Mo, Lithuania, Netherlands (coordinator: Ruedi Hächler, ABÖJ Austria) - general assembly

We also talked about the internship experience from both perspectives - i.e. the effort and benefits of an internship abroad, such as the one Nicole is doing with us now. It was noted that it depends a lot on the person in question - but it is expected that in the future there will be trainees coming and going for short or long periods between different countries.

1 word is 100: we had a great experience at the NCM meeting this year and look forward to next year's meeting, especially as we are hosting it. I hope more of us from Hungary can participate!

Dani Kovács and Nicole Niederhauser