Ecumenical Leadership Development:
The National Council of Churches in India, since its inception has trained a number of young people to be leaders in churches and in the society. Young people are valuable resources for the church, community, and society. The NCCI encourages young people to understand the mission of the Church as Diakonia which means service to humanity. The “Hour as Come: Let us get going..” was the theme of XXIX General Assembly of NCCI which encourages everyone to discern the sign of the times and act accordingly amidst of all the turmoil that happened during the Covid period and post-Covid period.

Youth play a vital role in building solidarity irrespective of differences in faith or denomination and they responds to issues such as climate change, human trafficking, ecological concern, global threats like violence. The Ecumenical platform serves as a bridge to understand the contextual scenarios occurring within Churches and society enabling a response to the urgent needs of the hour.
Jesus prayed that “that they all may be one” (John 17:21). The unity we seek in the ecumenical movement and its vehicle of ecumenical formation is to receive the fruit of hope. As we uphold that the unity of all in Christ will be the results of a common growth and maturing of our way to ecumenism, a systematic approach needs to be developed at different levels in ecumenical formation and leadership development among young people. The Objective of ecumenical formation is that the Church be enhanced by the ecumenical spirit, in every aspect of the world and society.
In this context, ecumenical formation tunes into spirituality and leadership development which bears witness to the prayer that God’s Kingdom may be established on earth, a kingdom of unity under the household of God. Thus, an ecumenical movement emphasizes sharing among the ecclesial communities and traditions with faith, hope and the gifts of the spirit, so that the fruit of the spirit may be borne by everyone. The final transition that needs to be made is from ‘either…or’ to ‘both… and’, from fighting with the premise that either of us is correct to moving towards the insights that ‘both’ of us could be correct at the same time, and that we have much to learn from one another and that together we can more effectively address the challenges of our times.

Ecumenical formation for youth

Youth plays a vital role in the church and society. They are also in need of ecumenical formation and leadership training to help them understand how their faith informs justice work and to grasp the interconnection between Justice, peace, and conflict issues. We used to hear that today’s Youth are the future leaders of the Church but today’s youth are the backbone of the society and are supposed to be the leaders of the church in order to fulfil the role and young minds are to be trained and equipped with ecumenical leadership skills.
Youth are required to be nurtured and be empowered in leadership, thereby enabling them to be more actively involved in the ecumenical movement in the Indian context. It will further provide opportunities for wider exposure to the ecumenical movement and help them to be more meaningfully involved in advocating for issues of social justice across borders through ecumenical youth networks. The youth are to be given the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the Ecumenical Movement and share experiences of successful leadership from various parts of the country.
The ecumenical formation programme had produced various young ecumenical leaders. It has shaped and equipped many young leaders who are now heading various ecumenical organizations and movements. In continuing the vision of witnessing and forming young ecumenical leaders, the ecumenical formation programme aims to enhance the prophetic Indian young minds so that the Indian Church and society at large may witness the ecumenical society of Just and inclusive
communities with equipped young leaders.

Objectives:
 Understanding ecumenism in Indian context.
 To contribute to the development and promotion of Intra-faith, Inter-faith experiences and perspectives among young people.
 To understand the challenges before the ecumenical movement locally and nationally
 Learning the regional and global ecumenical movements.
 Understanding different denominations and their traditions, worship with exposures.
 To encourage participants for ecumenical initiatives within their respective Churches upon completing the programme.
 To prepare young leadership through social sensitization and awareness about communal harmony with Peace with Justice.
 To understand the socio-political, and economic challenges of young people in the present context Target groups:
 Target Groups: 40 youth within the age group 20-35 yrs. with an equal participation from both male and female.
 They will be selected and sent by their respective churches for a 7 days ecumenical formation.
 After their initial training, the youth will be able to initiate their own small programmes in their churches and communities to aimed at facilitating ecumenical understanding and togetherness.

Methodologies:
 Listening, Sharing, Community Building
 Bible Study, Group Discussions, Role Play
 Panel Discussions, Worship planning
 Exposure programme
 Preparing individual projects

Thematic Issues to be Addressed
• Church Movement • Mission & Evangelism • Spirituality • Ecumenical Leadership • Overcoming
Violence and Peace-Building with Justice • Dalit and Tribal/Adivasi Concerns • Gender/Human
Sexuality • Networking &Advocacy • Intra-faith, Interfaith Cooperation • Contextual Social
Analysis• Human Rights • Eco-justice