Reformed, Reunited, Remixed: How URCSA's Christian Youth Ministry has Reimagined Missional Ecclesiology in Southern Africa since 1994

Abstract

On our continent various former mission churches, like the Uniting Reformed Christian Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), struggle with the quest of becoming an African church. In this article I tell the story of how the Christian Youth Ministry (CYM), through its self-identification, has reimagined “church” within its own structures, especially since 1994 when URCSA united. I relate this to the quest for a missional ecclesiology in southern Africa. The article shows how the CYM self-identifies as a uniting movement, as the voice of youth, as a congress movement, but also as a networked space for diverse identifications. URCSA, but also other churches on our continent, are challenged with this re-imagination towards remixing an alternative future.