The Rev. Destini Hodges is welcomed to the GA Daily studio

MILWAUKEE — Following yet another full plenary session on Tuesday morning, the Rev. Destini Hodges dashed over to the studio to be interviewed on GA Daily, the news program of the 227th General Assembly hosted daily by Fred Tangeman.

Watch their conversation here.

Manager for the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program in the Leader Development area for Presbyterian Life & Witness, Hodges was asked to comment on how the church is supporting young adults in both traditional and nontraditional forms of ministry.

Hodges began by describing the mission and evolution of the YAV program, an ecumenical, faith-based year of service for young people ages 19–30 in sites across the United States and around the world.

She paused to emphasize the word “ecumenical.”

“It’s a beautiful thing that the program is hosted by our denomination, but we are also ecumenical,” Hodges said. “It’s good to highlight the program on the same day we had our ecumenical service of worship.”

In its 34-year history, the YAV program, she said, “is the program that helps young people get involved in problems that are pressing, but through a faith-based lens.”

Although perhaps most closely associated with the YAV program, Hodges went on to say that she understands her role in PL&W more broadly as exercising several different yet interconnected and important functions.

“We’re still a connectional church,” she said. “In our leader development section led by [the Rev. Dr.] Ray Jones, what we have is a cradle-to-grave way of faith formation. As our great Reformed tradition teaches, everything we do in life is our call. So how do we get young people involved even earlier? It’s important for congregations and especially mid councils to get young people engaged early because they are struggling to find out how they can get involved.”

Hodges took a few moments to debunk three myths about young people as they relate to the YAV program, which, since the Covid pandemic, had invited them to serve virtually at a time when in-person service was not possible.

The myths she cited as untrue were:

• Men don't want to serve; historically 95% have been women.
• People of color do not want to serve; the program is seeing greater participation.
• There aren't other communions who want to be invited into what the PC(USA) is doing.

“Because of those findings,” Hodges said, “we have now held onto that virtual component.”

For the remainder of the 30-minute broadcast, Hodges focused on encouraging more intentional churchwide efforts to help “make young adults feel more included in the denomination.”

“We tend to lose young people from eighth grade to high school,” she observed. “Young people are missing. How do we offer something of faith formation to them?”

At the congregational level, Hodges said that churches can allow young people “to explore all the roles, to be liturgists, to let them be involved in ministry and mission, to invite them in to be speakers and session leaders and, if they’re equipped enough, they can be on session.”

She said that there are also roles for young people at the presbytery, synod and General Assembly levels.

As she then turned her attention to the debate about whether Theological Student Advisory Delegates and Young Adult Advisory Delegates should have both voice and vote, Hodges said that “until that day happens, we know how our young people are feeling about items that come to the Assembly floor. It’s a beacon of hope to other denominations who don’t offer that to young people.”

Hodges also said that she is relishing her work with the TSADs and the wide range of generations they represent.

“Historically TSADs were probably 24–26 years old, but now we’re finding people who respond to God’s call to lead in different generations,” she said. “The wide diversity and perspectives have been beautiful. We really lean in to be diverse.”

Tangeman then took the opportunity to observe that both the meals and text threads with the TSADs must be really interesting.

“I think we could do a show just on text threads alone,” he quipped.

After congratulating Hodges on her recent ordination as a teaching elder, Tangeman offered her the chance to raise any other issues on her mind.

In her parting words, Hodges encouraged “people to lean in and find ways to grow into the ways that God is calling them to serve.” 

She also invited current seminarians “to really consider being bivocational, to support smaller congregations by pairing your cool ministry with other gifts that you do well. There are different ways that you can lean in.”

Following the segment with Hodges, Tangeman appropriately closed the broadcast by sharing a video featuring YAAD interviews.

GA Daily airs here each day at noon Central time.