Young Adult Ministry

Andrew J. Gathman

When it comes to highlighting the last year for Young Adult Ministry, it is difficult to choose what to report because God has blessed us in so many ways. He has given us committed young adult leaders, increased the number of young adults worshipping at Central, and brought many new college students to our church.

We have seen several young adults come to Christ, many young adults grow dynamically in their faith, new young adults getting plugged-in to ministry, and young adults who have heard God's call to serve in overseas missions. We saw early success in new ministry programming like retreats, small groups, and a new worship service. And all of these praises point to the overarching highlight of the year, which is the birth of a dynamic and thriving ministry for young adults at Central Presbyterian Church.

The year started by calling together leaders with a vision and a heart for Young Adult Ministry. From that gathering, the young adult Core Group was formed, and on a retreat in March we started to develop a coherent vision for the ministry.

At that retreat several important themes emerged: we desire a young adult ministry that is effective at reaching postmodern young adults, we want to develop a strong community that lives by Biblical ideals, and we want to train young adults to be Christ-followers in every aspect of their life. Out of these themes, we developed our Mission/Vision statement and adopted it this summer:

Flowing through our world with God's love and truth
Filling post-moderns with living water
Freeing them to serve as they've been called

In living out this vision, Young Adult Ministry made several bold strides in 2002, and God has been faithful to us as we have lived out our calling. One stride has been the launch of several young adult small groups in order to be more effective at making disciples and building community. Already those groups have seen much growth and there is now a need for more young adult small groups. Another big step was the formation of a partnership with the student-run Christian club at Maryland Institute College of Art. Those relationships have lead to a growing artist community here at Central, which in turn has helped to spawn a visual artist ministry.

The ministry's climactic event of 2002 was a postmodern worship service in November, which incorporated all of the themes we have been working toward for the entire year. The service was a great success, as it gave us the insight we needed to make it a regular part of our ministry programming.

In the coming year, we hope to continue the growth we witnessed in 2002. We plan on developing more small groups for young adults, holding several retreats, and creating new teams within the ministry, including a college team and a connecting team. Our ministry is all about team leadership and involvement, so if you have a heart for young adults or would like to serve with us, don't hesitate to see Andy, or someone else within Young Adult Ministry, about getting involved.

Finally, thank you to all in the congregation who support this ministry with your encouragement, your service, and your prayers. God is working through you! Please continue to lift up in prayer the Young Adult Ministry and the many people who work to make this ministry happen. Pray especially for our young adult leaders, who faithfully and tirelessly share their passion, time, and talent in reaching their postmodern peers for Jesus.