Participants at the Peace Messengers training in Antigua, Guatemala. Photo: LWF
Young leaders invited to apply for peacebuilding training before 1 February
(LWI) - “If you are a young leader ready to grow and make a change in your community, apply now for this training and become a voice for peace,” says Phiona Uwase from the Lutheran Church of Rwanda, a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council and a participant in a previous Peace Messengers training.
LWF invites young people aged between 18 and 30 to apply for the Peace Messengers training which will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 20 to 25 April 2026. The program equips young people with skills to engage in effective peacebuilding and conflict resolution in their different contexts. At the end of the training, participants will initiate small scale projects at local level with the support of LWF youth grants.
Uwase, who took part in the 2022 training in Kigali, Rwanda, said the experience not only gave her with practical skills, but also connected her with “friends from different faiths, cultures and backgrounds, young leaders who are so passionate about justice and peace, about change in their communities.”
Participants are inspired to find ways of contributing to peace building in their local contexts.
Savanna Sullivan, LWF Program Executive for Youth
Bible Omod from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada participated in the 2025 training in Antigua, Guatemala and noted that the training gave her “valuable insights into the importance of empathy, understanding and building bridges between diverse groups of people. Her participation, she said, “not only equipped me with practical tools but really inspired me to take action in my own community.”
The program, which was established in 2017, “offers young people a unique opportunity to learn from the local context where the training is held,” noted Savanna Sullivan, LWF Program Executive for Youth. “Participants reflect together on the theology of peacebuilding and the spiritual calling to make peace. They also learn from professionals in the field of conflict resolution, share experiences with their peers and are inspired to find ways of contributing to peace building in their local contexts,” she added.
Young participants from the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil attend the Peace Messengers training in Guatemala. Photo: LWF/S. Sullivan
Participants learn about practical peacebuilding skills during the 2025 training in Guatemala. Photo: LWF/S. Sullivan
A group photo of all the participants in the previous Peace Messengers training in Antigua, Guatemala. Photo: LWF/V. Gil
Successful applicants will be drawn from all the LWF regions and must have the endorsement of their member church’s national office. They are also required to have some experience in church leaders and familiarity with LWF’s values and theological commitments. Discussing and contextualizing the youth priorities named at the 2023 Assembly in Krakow will be an important part of the program. The deadline for submitting an application is 1 February 2026.
Lindo Shandu from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa was another participant in the 2025 training in Guatemala. Since then, he has hosted a youth peacebuilding summer camp and applied the tools he learned within the context of his own church and local community to tackle rising levels of substance abuse and gender-based violence. Using storytelling, faith-based conversations and participatory activities, he said: “This training strengthened my commitment to becoming an agent of peace and to create spaces where difficult issues can be engaged with honesty, care and hope.”
