The Global NYI Convention continued Thursday with three plenary sessions. Each session had a specific focus: evangelism (Be), discipleship (Do), and leadership development (Go). Business was carried out throughout the day and voting for the new global NYI chair took place. After seven rounds of voting, David Gonzalez (Mexico North District) was elected the new global NYI chair.
“It is a blessing to serve NYI,” Gonzalez said. “We are looking forward to seeing great things happen in NYI. It is amazing to be part of this church.”
The son of two pastors, Gonzalez was born in Mexico City and raised in Xalapa, Veracruz. He holds an undergraduate degree in business and a master’s degree in family ministry (Seminario de las Americas, Costa Rica). He served as a missionary for the
former Mexico and Central America Region, living in Guatemala and ministering with NYI — first as regional NYI president and then as regional youth coordinator. In 2007, he began working in the Global NYI Office, located in the Church of the Nazarene’s Global Ministry Center in Lenexa, Kansas.
Earlier in Thursday’s session, Costa Rica Central District NYI President Gaby Bustos officially announced the Third Wave 2015 conference will be in Costa Rica, January 6 through 11, 2015.
“The impact of the Third Wave leadership conferences has been enormous,” said Gary
Hartke, global NYI director. “We have learned being together helps us live better and stronger for Christ. Our efforts to accomplish evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development in our own ministry settings are enriched by our connection to a global group of leaders.”
Previous Third Wave events were in Bangkok, Thailand (2012); Johannesburg, South Africa (2007); Quito, Ecuador (2004). In his commissioning report, Hartke affirmed that when NYI meets again there will be much to celebrate.
“Somewhere in the months ahead we will surpass 500,000 NYI members for the first time in our history,” he said.
The crowd exploded with applause.
There is no doubt God is doing a work among the leaders at the Global NYI Convention and around the world. The final NYI plenary session ended with delegates from different regions coming together to pray with and for each other. The time of prayer was concluded with Scott Armstrong, Mesoamerica regional youth coordinator, praying from the Haiti site.
The NYI Convention ends Friday with additional regional caucuses, workshops, and NYI partner region meetings.
(original article available: http://www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?id=10012665).