Youth Lab: Where Young People Live the Mission

Story by Jhoana Mortera, Adventist News Network

While delegates at the 62nd General Conference Session meet to discuss the future of the church for the next five years, something powerful is happening across the hall. Youth Lab is a space where young people are not just listening, they're taking part in the mission.

In the afternoons, they go out into the streets of St. Louis to serve the community. In the evenings, they gather for worship, discussion panels, and the chance to talk directly with world church leaders. It’s a space where youth can share, ask questions, and feel included in the church’s work.

What Is the Vision behind Youth Lab?

According to Busi Khumalo, GC youth director, the vision behind Youth Lab is to get young people directly involved in the mission of the church through community service and meaningful conversation.

But it's more than just action, he explained. Youth Lab is also a place to listen to the youth, learn from them, and help them understand what the Adventist Church believes and expects from them.

“If they don’t know who they are, how are they going to say, ‘I Will Go’? First, we have to help them embrace the identity and the mission of the church.”

What Makes Youth Lab Different?

Organizers say this isn’t just another church program. Youth Lab gives young people the chance to live the mission, not just hear about it.

Khumalo shared that in most local churches, youth do activities with people from their city or neighborhood. But here they are working with people from different parts of the world, sharing ideas, connecting, and learning from one another.

Stories from the Field

Some of the most powerful moments at Youth Lab are happening outside the building, on the sidewalks of St. Louis.

Leon and Keisha, both from the Jamaica Union Conference, were part of a group assigned to a street-cleaning project. As they worked, Leon noticed a man sitting quietly near a fence. The man asked if they were collecting garbage. Leon answered yes and gladly took the bag the man handed him. Then Leon asked, “Is there anything else we can do for you?”

The man said, “Do you have a bottle of water?” 

Leon remembered he had one in his backpack.

“When I gave it to him, I had never seen someone so grateful just for water,” Leon said. “It made me realize I’ve taken something so simple for granted.”

As they continued talking, the man opened up. He had lost his mother, gone through trauma, and made mistakes that led him to living on the streets. What he needed most was not just help but someone to listen and offer a little hope.

Before they left, Leon and Keisha asked if they could pray with him. They offered a short prayer, along with words of hope and encouragement.

“It felt good to not just sit in a meeting all day, but to actually do something,” Leon said.

Keisha also reflected on the experience. Coming from a different country, she was unsure how someone might respond to a stranger offering prayer.

“It felt so fulfilling to reach out to someone, to give comfort,” Keisha said. “You never know what someone is going through until you take the first step and talk to them.”

These are just a few of the many small but life-changing interactions happening through Youth Lab. Simple acts of kindness—listening, serving, praying—are leaving a deep impact not only on the people being helped but also on the young people who are helping.

Keisha believes these experiences are bringing the young people closer to God.

“We live in a time where some young people don’t feel comfortable sharing the gospel,” she said. “But when they see what’s happening in real life, in their community — when they experience it — it helps them understand that this is exactly what Jesus would be doing if He were here today.”

A Generation Ready to Go

These stories make one thing clear: young people are not waiting to be called. They are already answering. Given the right tools, guidance, and trust, today’s youth are not the leaders of tomorrow — they are leading now.

What they need is not permission but opportunity. When the church believes in its youth and gives them space to move they rise with purpose, courage, and mission-driven hearts.

Youth Lab stands as living proof that when young people are empowered, they don’t just participate they ignite change.

But this moment should not stay in St. Louis. The prayer now is that each young person carries this fire back home to their churches, schools, and communities to keep spreading the gospel with boldness and love.

Because this generation—the digital generation—is uniquely positioned to finish the work. They are not just the future of the church. They are the movement God is using now to proclaim that Jesus is coming soon.