Over 100 youth from the 32 member-churches of the Council for World Mission are coming together for the Global Youth Forum on 22-28 August 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa. As part of the CWM’s 40th anniversary celebrations, the youth representatives will come together to learn, share and explore faith together.
The forum will be exploring the theme of: ‘Building Disciples in the context of Empire: Reimagining Church’. We are bringing speakers from around the world to share and inspire our young people with the hope that they will bring back a new bold vision of how church can be in the 21st century to their communities and contexts.
As a way of inspiring and encouraging our young people we have commissioned Ms Karabo Mamabolo, a South African artist and a delegate to the Youth Pre-Assembly last year in Jeju, South Korea to design a logo which we are excited to share with you now. We asked her to share why she chose the different aspects and her is what she said:
- The dove
The dove symbolises the Holy Spirit and God’s love covering the world in the mist of all the life’s denying forces, it is a reminder that we should be able to see God in the mist of life’s negative forces and hope for completeness in the earth’s brokenness.
- The fractured earth
The fractured earth signifies the brokenness, the sickness, the groaning and the failure to steward what the Lord has entrusted in us (Genesis 2:15). It’s the evidence of the empire’s power, theft division and ruin.
- The raised fist
The raised fist symbolises a rising generation of disciples engaging with the denials of fullness of life, confronting, claiming back and taking control of what the empire has killed, stolen and destroyed. It’s a hand fighting against oppression, economic injustice and ecological destruction. It is raised for life affirming inclusive communities, bringing about healing, reconciliation, restoration and painting a new image of God’s church.
- The African Safari
The African Safari is a preview of the African hospitality and journey towards a life of peace and a glimpse of the possibility of hope towards a peaceful and life-giving environment.
For updates, please follow our Facebook page: CWM Global Youth Forum.