Living Faith with the Social Principles: Equipping Young People for Reflection and Action
The lesson plans developed by Ethnic Young Adult (EYA) interns help young people engage with the United Methodist Social Principles in practical, faithful, and contextually relevant ways.
In the summer 2026, EYA Interns Jean Ndayisenga (Burundi), Ben Marwa (Kenya), and EYA alum and summer chaplain Tafadzwa Chikawa (Zimbabwe) spent eight weeks developing resources to help young people engage the United Methodist Social Principles in practical, faithful, and contextually relevant ways.
Drawing on their own ministry contexts, each intern identified a social concern affecting young people in their community, researched the topic to identify key terms and information, and developed educational resources grounded in the Social Principles and other social teachings of The United Methodist Church.
The teaching materials include:
an introduction explaining the selected issue and its significance for young people in the region.
a facilitator guide with a lesson plan, suggested materials, and key considerations for teaching the topic.
a participant handout for reflection and engagement.
The resources are designed to be intentionally low-cost and accessible. Each one-hour lesson follows a format like the GBCS Youth Lectionary Curriculum and is designed to move participants from faithful reflection to meaningful social action. Lessons also include case studies based on common experiences faced by young people, presented as anonymized composite profiles rather than accounts of specific individuals.
These materials were created primarily for communities directly affected by the issues they address. At the same time, we hope they will inspire leaders across the connection to develop contextually relevant resources that help young people connect faith, reflection, and action in their own communities.
Download the lesson plans created by EYA interns below.
