It’s more than just another Sunday
By Glen Simpson, Young Adult Coordinator
Jesus was, by our present definition, a young adult; all of his ministry years he fit into the age range of 18-34 year old target audience. His disciples, many scholars agree, may have been even younger. Jesus taught in stories, a popular medium of his day and culture, and his listeners heard the message and because the medium was accessible, they followed. Through connecting with one another, we strive to improve our personal spiritual lives, the spirituality of the church, and the hurts of society. As children of God, we are called to be grounded in scripture, while using our own traditions, experiences, and reasons, to actively seek God and social justice.
We have all heard the importance of apportionments and the ministry they support. One of these ministries is Relevance, the official young adult ministry of the Desert Southwest. Relevance is faced with the challenge of bringing young adults closer to Christ in a fast-paced, ever-changing world. A pressure filled world affected by the development and building of relationships, time management, managing finances, and so much more.
There is a specific need for leadership development among young adults, particularly here in the Southwest. Many young adults in our conference have the potential for leadership, but have not been given the paths, opportunities, resources, or voice to use their God-given abilities. The young adults of this Conference have been fairly quiet in recent years, though not necessarily decreasing in number. This generation of young adults is quickly growing and with such a large number, more are seeking questions about His existence and life itself. Yet a young adult’s likelihood of remaining an active part of the church is less than 25%. More alarming is that once they enter high school, our chances of reaching those who never knew Christ are practically zero.
Relevance is an ever-changing ministry reaching out to develop and strengthen the future church leaders of today, but we need your support. Relevance realizes these changes and through our ongoing and new relationships developed with each of the 141 churches in our conference, Relevance will remain relevant to trends that society faces while staying true to the historic tradition of faith in Christ. We will in no way hide behind our relevance, but seek to show the world that Jesus has transformed our lives and He can do the same for theirs.
On Sunday, September 12, 2010 your special offering will support young adult ministries. It will support such events as Relevance X, a now 3-day conference that seeks to understand the need for church growth and develop means to make new disciples. This conference will continue to support and empower young adults who may not have the skills or the voice in the church. During offering you and your church will have the opportunity to be one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry with all the world by supporting young adult ministry.
One Sunday, many churches, one conference, hundreds of young adults making disciples.
(Left) The term “young adult” is very broad, and is often difficult for local churches to know how to reach out to this diverse and sometimes intimidating group. One simple way to support ministry to younger adults is to take part in Relevance Sunday with your congregation on Sept. 12.
(Right) Young Adults around the Desert Southwest Conference are spiritually hungry and desperately need to be ministered to. Relevance Sunday helps to make that ministry possible.