Young adults called to community in an uncertain world

ATLANTA — In a world increasingly defined by crisis – political instability, economic injustice, climate change and mass displacement – 42 young adults see a different future: one guided by faith, service and deep commitment to community. On July 18 in Accra, Ghana, Global Ministries commissioned the 2025-2027 cohort of Global Mission Fellows (GMFs) to serve in 23 countries around the world for two years.

While these young adults range in age, background and vocation, a common thread in their stories is clear – a calling to put faith into action and embody change through community.

“As we see an increase of greed in our world, we also see the powerful work of community coming together,” said Hannah Hanson, director of Young Adult Mission Service for Global Ministries. “This cohort is committed to community in an uncertain world. They are creatives, and health practitioners, and environmentalists, and migrant advocates. I am inspired by all their gifts, and most importantly, by the way they are rooted in faith and seek to follow the path God has set for them and the communities they are being sent to.”

For many fellows in this cohort, a call to community is not new. It’s been growing for years, shaped by personal experiences, academic study and spiritual formation.

For Jonathan Odia Mwaba, a fellow from the Democratic Republic of Congo who will serve in the West Angola Conference in the area of agriculture, the calling emerged from seeing his own community’s struggles. “I witnessed the struggles of smallholder farmers like food insecurity, environmental degradation and limited access to resources. These experiences shaped my understanding of the interplay between social justice, environmental stewardship and community resilience.”

Mwaba grew up in The United Methodist Church and earned a degree in agriculture and natural resources management. “I have been influenced by the call to love our neighbors and care for creation,” said Mwaba. “Fundamentally, my goal as a fellow is to create long-lasting change by integrating agricultural knowledge with social and environmental justice. I believe together and through shared learning, new ideas can be developed and created that are beneficial both to people and the planet.”

Seul “Stella” Lee, a native of South Korea who will serve in Germany, senses that the call to serve God in another country and different culture is a turning point in her life. “I have come to a deep realization that the joy overflowing within me is a gift from God and that I must share that gift with the world. Missionary work is not simply about spreading the gospel, but also about putting God’s love into practice,” she said. Equipped with training from the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul, Lee will work at Bethanien Diakonissen Stiftung (Bethanien Deaconess Foundation) to support vulnerable groups who receive very little to no governmental assistance, like people with mental illness and the elderly.

For Bolivian fellow Anssery Ivia Mamani Cala, who will serve with the Evangelical United Methodist Church of Ecuador, education is a core piece of her calling. “I strongly believe in the power of education as a transformative tool,” she said. “Not only for children but also for communities as a whole. Global Mission Fellows offers me the ideal platform to put into practice what I’ve learned as an early childhood educator and what I’m passionate about: working for a more just and inclusive world.”

Cala’s vision of transformation is not a one-way path. Like many fellows, she sees mission not as something done to or for a community, but something done among and with it. “I firmly believe that working for the well-being of others not only enriches the lives of those who directly benefit, but also profoundly transforms us as human beings. I’ve always felt an inner call to return to the essential, to that which gives meaning to existence: service to others.”

The commissioning service was both a celebration of calling and a sending into service. “The Christian church has a wonderful tradition of sending people into mission service,” said the Rev. Dr. Judy Y. Chung, executive director of Missionary Service for Global Ministries. “In the act of commissioning, these persons are being dedicated to service for a season of their lives. The United Methodist Church and our partner churches support these persons as they go forth into the world on behalf of the church.”

Presiding Bishop of The Methodist Church Ghana, the Most. Rev. Prof. Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, delivered the sermon and led the act of commissioning. He was joined by four more bishops and Global Ministries representatives who laid hands on the fellows. After they were commissioned, the new fellows were vested with the anchor cross by the outgoing class of GMFs who have journeyed with them as candidates.

“My prayer,” said Hanson, “is that they will listen well and form deep relationships as they seek God’s justice to break through in our world. And my prayer for the church is that we will learn with them and from them.”

As the fellows go forth from Accra, they are sent by The United Methodist Church with both a blessing and a charge: to extend love and care in uncertain times, to build community in unlikely places and to trust that God is already present in the work they are called to do.

Watch a recording of the commissioning service on the Global Mission Fellows Facebook page.
 
Sara Logeman is the senior manager of Content and Marketing for Global Ministries.