Not the Future—The Church Now

Emma Witt’s journey from Peace’s youth council to churchwide leadership

Not only am I getting to help build a future for the church, but I also get to help carve a path for the youth who come after me. God has truly blessed me with that call in my life. 

Hi, I’m Emma Witt. I just graduated from high school and will be heading to college for the first time. I’m a youth representative for the churchwide council, and my mission is to inspire and raise up the youth of the church—not just through leadership, but through stories of life, the hard, the good, and everything in between. 

I didn’t start out on the churchwide council. I started here at Peace at 14 years old as the youth representative on our church council for three years. That was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and it helped me grow—not just in confidence, but in problem solving, leadership, and relationships. It also helped me see that my voice mattered more than I ever thought, and that there were people who wanted to hear it. Because I was a youth on the church council, I was asked to attend synod assemblies. At my first one, I stood up and spoke for the youth. I also saw what it was like to be in the minority, as the youngest one there, unable to find anyone my age. That was honestly the start of realizing why God had put me in that position. 

As time went on, I attended the 2025 churchwide assembly as a representative of the South Dakota Synod, and there my life changed. I connected with youth and young adults, created ideas together, and heard about their achievements and growth in the church. I had the chance to speak up and show that the youth are not the future of the church but the church now. I also saw the work still needed—the barriers set up to make us feel smaller, and the people who saw us as the reason the church would fail. Their words didn’t stop me; instead, they grew the fire in my heart to show there is a spot for the youth in the church, and that I wouldn’t stop until every voice is heard. At that assembly, I was elected to the churchwide council as youth representative. 

Since then, I’ve been working to have the voice of the youth heard—not just at the highest level of the church, but in the synods, churches, and communities youth belong to. This work doesn’t just belong to the youth; it belongs to the people who help them get where they’re going. I’ve had people supporting me throughout this, and without them I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s because one person saw me not as a kid, but as someone who had a voice—and gave me a chance to show what God had placed in me. 

This job doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to all the youth and young adults, the ones I know and the ones I can’t wait to meet. So this is an invitation: this is your time to have your voice heard and start something bigger than yourself—even if it’s just sitting next to someone who’s going through a hard time. You don’t have to stand on a stage to be a leader. 

I hope our church is just the start for many youth to find their calling, whether in church or in their everyday lives. I dream of a day where the youth outnumber the adults, and where it isn’t a dream anymore. The youth are here. It’s our time.