NextGen Unity

 Join the Inaugural NextGen Nehemiah Retreat!

(Details & registration below)

NextGen Nehemiah Image

 

Mark your calendars for April 25-28, 2024, and be a part of history at the first-ever NextGen Nehemiah Retreat, set in the serene Unity Village, Missouri.

This exclusive event, tailored for the dynamic 18 to 35ish members of the NextGen Unity community, offers a transformative blend of service and spirituality.

With complimentary lodging and food, participants will immerse themselves in service work at Unity Village with possibilities such as:

  • Landscaping
  • Painting
  • Cleaning 
  • Creating a physical Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial (on Unity grounds)

Prepare to engage in profound activities, connect with like-minded peers, and contribute to the legacy of Unity Village.

Limited to 25 spots, this retreat promises an intimate and impactful experience. Act now: register today and secure your time off, arrange your travel. Don't miss this unique opportunity to unite, serve, and grow with your generation at the NextGen Nehemiah Retreat!

Please follow these steps to complete your registration confirmation:

  1. Link to Register (Be sure to select the "NextGen Event")https://www.unityvillage.org/retreats-events/nehemiah/registration-form 
  2. Agree to these consciousness intentions (group agreements) for the event. The document is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kyfLXtFR2MxqKhlafiCGdIlNjryYsLVbegRuHZHOMAk/edit?usp=drive_link
  3. Email the following information to YoungAdult@Unity.org:
    • Either confirmed day off for locals or flight information for people out of town
    • Your signed group agreements document (link above).
  4. Pre-order your t-shirt here: T-Shirt Link Here
NextGen
Mission: Championing the next generation in claiming and transforming their world.

Welcome to our NextGen Unity page! Formerly also known as Next Generation of Unity (NGU), and Adults of Unity (AOU), this Early (Young) Adult ministry focuses on supporting programs designed for ages 18-35(ish). 

NextGen SpiritGroups

NextGen Unity adopts the SpiritGroups model for small group cohesion, resources, support, and training. To become a NextGen SpiritGroup host, please Send an Email to the Early Adult Program Coordinator, Rachel Gaither, or visit UWM's SpiritGroups page for more information about SpiritGroups programming.

We want to hear from you! If you have an active NextGen (NGU) group, or know of one, please reach out to us. We want to know how you are doing, and offer our support, including information about upcoming events, possible trainings and/or opportunities for funding and community connection. Join our nationwide database of NextGen groups to receive community support, connection, and participate in something bigger! Send an Email to the Early Adult Program Coordinator, Rachel Gaither, for more information about how to register for the NextGen database. 

 

NextGen Cultural Ambassadors

This new program is focused on international exchange travel, service, and personal development. It is the early adult portion of the overarching vision of Unity Cultural Ambassadors, being developed from the LoveLight program (keep reading for more about LoveLight!). Stay tuned to hear about this exciting and cutting-edge leadership and exchange program being developed! To find out more on how to support or donate to this budding program, or how to get involved in its development, Send an Email to your Early Adult Program Coordinator, Rachel Gaither.

 

LoveLight2LoveLight

"For above all, love is a sharing. Love is a power. Love is a change that takes place in our own heart. Sometimes it may change others, but always it changes us." ~ James Dillet Freeman

It originated out of a Unity ministry (The Light Center: Robin Goff, LUT), that builds cultural bridges through service. Partnering with the impoverished rural community of Riviersonderend (RSE), South Africa since 2002, LoveLight seeks to assist in breaking down poverty and barriers to prosperity through building up education and cultural bonds in communities. Since their partnership with LoveLight in 2002, the community in RSE has built a Children's Sanctuary, established an annual Youth of Unity (Y.O.U.)-style teen self-esteem and leadership camp called "Ubuntu Camp", and brought their high school graduation rate up from 2 to 20 each year (1000%). The community has, to date, sent over 30 first-generation students to University since their partnership with LoveLight began.

Every year, youth leadership is chosen to represent RSE at the international Y.O.U. conference (I.Y.O.U.), and teen leadership is chosen from the U.S. to support the Ubuntu camp, led by the local youth leadership. Without the onus of religious proselytising, this non-denominational camp uses universal spiritual tools based on Unity's spiritual principles to build confidence, self-esteem, leadership, trust, and community.

LoveLight was originated as part of the outreach programming of Unity Light Center (Robin Goff, LUT), and partners with its sister community of Riviersonderend (RSE), South Africa. Riviersonderend (RSE) is a very rural village about 2 hours east of Cape Town, SA, and is heavily affected by poverty, lack of resources, and the AIDS epidemic and the AIDS orphan crisis in South Africa. Working with Unity Light Center, a committee of RSE residents determined their most pressing priority should be the education of the children. 

That is where LoveLight was born--first as a children's sanctuary, where grandmothers of the community would meet the children of the community, make sure they had a hot meal, assistance with school work, and someone to talk to about their struggles. In 2013, LoveLight adopted the Peace by Piece program model of an exchange program, and implemented a Youth of Unity (Y.O.U.)-style retreat they call "Ubuntu Camp."

The 20 years of success of this program make it an excellent template for the entire Unity movement to engage in outreach on a global scale: the respect and partnership of non-proselytising, community-oriented, self-sustainable, and affirmative spiritual service all over the world. The possibilities of a thriving LoveLight program include: working with our National Unity Religious Schools outside the U.S., supporting remote Unity ministries around the globe, and voluntourism opportunities for our constituency that supply our movement with an infusion of cultural bridging, education, and diversity.

LoveLight runs on funding from donors and sponsors. If you would like to support the building and expansion of this amazing exchange program for youth, please consider a donation, or Send an Email to your Early Adult Program Coordinator, Rachel Gaither.

These resources help ministries and leaders develop programs to invite more young adult participation in a ministry. How many can you incorporate to reach young people?