© Lausanne Movement Canada
By Bosco Tung 董鎮陞
(Continued from Part I, May issue)
If Canada’s cities reflect the global Church in microcosm, then obedience requires more than parallel excellence. It requires trust.
That trust must extend across generations as well. The Cape Town Commitment reminds us, “Children and young people are the Church of today, not merely of tomorrow” (II-D-5). In a youth fellowship of roughly sixty students, I witnessed three worship teams serving faithfully and passionately, supported by those who had invested in them, without prompting. Nearly half the group committed to reading through the Bible together for a year. They did not wait until adulthood to take ownership of faith. They were already leading.
In Youth Worker Community (YWC) gatherings across the country, hundreds of youth workers came together, demonstrating that those investing in the next generation are not retreating but pressing forward.
In conversation with a ministry leader preparing for a student conference, I pressed the question of whether we were designing only for adult leaders or intentionally engaging the youth themselves. That reframing altered the trajectory of our discussion. Instead of equipping young people from a distance, he began to imagine space for them as active participants. The next generation is not merely an audience. They are now participants in God’s mission.
Older leaders often ask what they can do for younger believers. A more faithful question may be whether we are willing to serve with them and, when appropriate, to release them to lead. In a fragmented culture, generational suspicion deepens division. Generational trust strengthens the body.
I was recently struck by the posture of a respected leader in his mid-fifties who described himself as a buffer for younger leaders. He carries the trust of older decision-makers, yet instead of protecting his own influence, he chooses to stand between generations. At times, he carries younger leaders’ ideas as his own, not to claim credit, but to give them room to grow without unnecessary resistance. Some of those younger leaders may not yet recognize the weight he absorbs on their behalf. But that kind of bridge-building is deeply needed.
This is not about replacing one generation with another. It is about strengthening the ligaments that allow the whole body to move together.
Mission begins with the mission of God (missio Dei). God is the primary agent; the church participates in what he is already doing in the world. As Dr. Christopher J. H. Wright, a missiologist, explains, mission is not first an activity or program of the church, but the church’s committed participation in God’s purpose to redeem and restore all creation. That participation always takes shape in particular places and times. In this country, at this moment, the nations are not distant abstractions. They are our neighbours, colleagues, classmates, and fellow worshippers.
What we often call “missions” – whether sending and going, welcoming newcomers, supporting global workers, shaping public witness, stewarding resources, or praying and advocating – are concrete expressions of that participation. They do not define God’s mission; they arise from it. Collaboration likewise is not the mission itself. It is a necessary expression of faithful obedience within God’s mission.
When cultures, languages, and generations share the same urban corridors, isolation is no longer sustainable. In a secular society, our witness depends not on cultural dominance, but on visible unity under Christ.
If current demographic and cultural trends continue, the Church in Canada may become smaller in nominal affiliation yet more globally connected in composition. Our strategies will need to reflect this reality. The church’s participation in God’s mission will increasingly unfold through intercultural spaces, shared leadership across generations, and ministry collaborations that move beyond institutional boundaries.
The first steps are not complex. Older leaders might ask younger believers not only what they need but also what they see. Younger leaders might seek out older mentors not as obstacles but as assets. Churches might examine whether cultural distinctiveness has quietly hardened into isolation, and whether trust across traditions could deepen without surrendering conviction. None of this requires new institutions. It requires humility.
Canada faces real challenges. Church attendance has declined. Secular assumptions shape public life. Yet the presence of the nations among us is not a threat to the Church. If God has gathered many peoples into shared space, it is not accidental. It is part of God’s providence for this time and place. It is an opportunity for faithfulness. The Holy Spirit has not withdrawn from Canada.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
May we respond not with fear or competition, but with courage.
May we pursue unity without demanding uniformity.
May we remain faithful both across the street and across the sea.
And may we declare and display Christ together, until the whole world knows.
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Author Bosco Tung 董鎮陞 serves as the National Associate Director for Lausanne Movement Canada.