The Young Adult Steering Committee is a group of young adults convened by the ELCA Churchwide Young Adult Ministry team to help advise and guide the team to stay true to our vision statement: Called to radically affirm and empower all young voices for Holy strategic disruption and divine justice

We recognize that our team of five is not a representative sample of the incredible diversity of young adults in the church. In order to help bridge the gap of voices that are missing from the table, we strive to convene a group that will work alongside the Young Adult Ministry in staying true to our vision.

The full steering committee will have 15 members—half appointed at the beginning of the year, and half appointed in the middle of the year. All members will serve on the committee for one year. We are striving for as much diversity in the steering committee as possible to ensure that young adult voices are heard.

We are hoping for diversity in race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, ability, age, family makeup, marital status, education level, geographic location, life experience, church experience, and more.

In our application, we capture relevant demographic information as well as allow for applicants to self-identify any identities they hold. In our selection process, the team has established a culture of cognizance around who has been historically excluded from decision-making spaces in the church. We are making an intentional commitment to ensure that at least 8 of the members are people of color, as well as putting an emphasis on including members of the LGBTQIA+ community, disabled young adults, first generation immigrants, and more.

Steering committee meetings will be held virtually four times a year on Sunday evenings, typically lasting around an hour and a half each. Feel free to check out our schedule for 2023!

If needed, committee members can call emergency meetings.

There will also be a one-hour orientation/welcome meeting after each cycle of appointments are made to allow committee members to meet each other and learn their role.

We are looking for a group that will help steer us in the direction that is most faithful to our vision statement and to young adult ministry as a whole in this church. We are seeking advice, input, and identifying priorities for young adult ministry. Members will not be in charge of implementation or the creation of projects themselves, but will provide suggestions to the Young Adult Ministry as a whole on how best to execute our vision statement.

We want to ensure that the work we're doing is informed by not only our experiences, but the experiences of the wider young adult community in the ELCA.

• You will be 18-35 years old by February 1, 2023

• You are able to commit to a year

  • This includes four general meetings & one orientation meeting. Tentative schedule can be found here

• You are passionate about young adults and are willing to provide honest feedback & engage in conversation about how to best equip & serve young adults

• You have a familiarity with the ELCA, but do not have to be a member

Applications will open near December & June of each year. We ask for general demographic information, as well a short answer response (500 words or less) to the question "Why do you want to be on the steering committee?"

If you are not chosen to serve on the committee, you have the option to stay on the consideration list without the need to resubmit an application.

Applications can be found on the "Apply" section of the website during application season. Details & deadlines will also be communicated on our social medias at @ELCAYoungAdults on Instagram and Facebook.