New Voices: By and about young adults

Jossimar Diaz-Castro was 16 when he first went to church. Growing up in Mexico City, he and his family held a nominal Catholic faith, most often experienced through Quinceañeras (coming-of-age ceremony for girls).

As a child, neither Jossimar nor his family had much interest in faith, which led to little exploration of the cultural Catholic tradition. The family moved to Atlanta, and out of a time of spiritual searching, Jossimar’s mother found herself at a Pentecostal-Evangelical church in the city. Even though Jossimar thought the church was a bit crazy, he noticed a marked difference in his mother, who was living a life of greater joy and greater love. He noticed that Christianity was different. When the family moved to Harrisonburg, Va., Jossimar was at a low point in his life, said, Why not? and visited church with his mother.

Though not impressed initially with the physicality of the Pentecostal church’s worship, Jossimar was drawn in by the sermons, and before long, his life was on a new trajectory. Jossimar embraced the teachings of love, joy and new life as he was welcomed into a community of people who cared for him. In time, he grew to cherish and practice a more Pentecostal style of worship.

In his new commitment to “following our Lord,” Jossimar (pictured) wanted to study more about Christianity and its teachings, about God and the path he now walked. He enrolled at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg.

Through studying at EMU, the sociopolitical dimensions of the Gospels became clearer to Jossimar. He began attending Early Church, a Mennonite congregation with a clear embrace of people who are “poor.” This embrace felt reminiscent of liberation theologians he respected, such as Oscar Romero, who spoke of the gospel’s preferential leaning to the poor and suffering.

In time, Jossimar’s connection with the Pentecostal tradition pulled him toward another worshipping community in Harrisonburg, Iglesia Discipular Anabautista. This church naturally was a bridge between Latino Protestant-Evangelical-Pentecostal styles of worship and life and Mennonite commitments of peace, ethics and sociopolitical considerations. For the last several months, Jossimar has worshipped with this congregation, feeling stronger that his unique call may be to be such a bridge.

In addition to heeding this call to ministry as a bridge person, Jossimar intends to write. Through his studies in theology and philosophy at EMU, Jossimar has had the chance to write and is interested in doing more on the topics of immigration from a Christian perspective (he appreciates a sensitivity he noticed Mennonites have that “Christ’s laws of hospitality can be above the state’s laws of exclusion”) and about Pentecostalism and Mennonites.

I knew Jossimar only minimally as we briefly overlapped when he worshipped with Early Church. I knew, though, that he was a young man with a passionate heart and abundant joy. In all my interactions with him, he greeted me with a broad smile, which shifted often into animated excitement as he spoke of things he is passionate about. I assumed, without evidence, that Jossimar had been a part of the Mennonite community for a long time. When speaking with him for this column, I was impressed with the depth of his conviction of faith when I realized he was relatively new to following Christ and to Mennonite understandings. I was honored and inspired as I spoke with him and listened to his honest and humble accounting of his faith journey.

I’ve used this column to highlight different young adults I’ve come across who inspire me on their adventurous journey following Christ, partly as a desire to increase the number of voices heard through this column and partly to bring inspiration and challenge to readers. So many lives of inspiration, courage, conviction and faith are lived humbly behind the scenes in their communities. I don’t know how long I’ll write this column or use it for this purpose, but it is my desire to bring to light some of these stories, like Jossimar’s, not necessarily to bring fame or recognition to these people but to inspire readers to listen to the stories of people in their own congregations and communities, to listen for the voice of God through the daily, humble witness of people’s lives.