Kira Street – Ward, Colorado … Six young adult leaders joined Jade Teal, Rocky Mountain Conference’s (RMC) assistant youth director, for the first Young Adult (YA) Leaders Weekend at Glacier View Ranch (GVR) in Ward, Colorado, September 27-29. It was an inspiring time for them to collaborate, get to know each other, and plan for the future of YA ministries in the RMC.

“God is already working through the Holy Spirit to answer a huge need of our Church, and that’s how to make community for young adults and guide them to be leaders of today,” remarked Elize, a YA leader from Grand Junction.

With representation from Lifesource Adventist Fellowship (LAF), Grand Junction, Rocky Mountain Indonesian, and Denver South Seventh-day Adventist Churches, they reflected on the strengths and challenges of their ministry. They appreciated the community’s consistency and willingness to learn, while also discussing ways to best communicate with their peers and mentor potential new leaders.

Keagan, a YA leader from the Rocky Mountain Indonesian Church, was inspired by these discussions saying, “It was nice to hear how other groups are going and then seeing how we can work together.”

The group spoke with Mic Thurber, RMC president, to discuss the Conference’s vision for fully integrating young adults in church life and leadership. He gave them encouragement to continue this ministry.

With that reassurance, the group planned the next steps for YA ministries. Creating a Christ-centered space that values vulnerability and empowers young adults to be mentors and mentees were among the common goals in the discussion. Participants commented on the profoundness of the conversations and Teal was amazed at how “powerful it can be to create a vision and mission that makes sense, coming from the bottom up.”

The discussions culminated in an initial vision and mission statement:

VISION: Equipping and mentoring young adults to be all God calls them to be today.

MISSION: Growing together in a Christ-centered authentic community.

This YA Ministry team will share this vision and mission November 1 to a larger group of YA leaders. They are also preparing for a bigger gathering of young adults next year to further the ministry.

“We are a community of leaders that can rely on each other,” remarked Kira, a YA leader from LAF. “That is powerful to me because, in our vision, we want to equip each other, but we are also equipping ourselves. We don’t have to do this on our own; we have the Holy Spirit and other leaders.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the future coming together as a conference,” reflected Christina, a YA leader from Grand Junction. The ministry team looks forward to refining this vision to serve young adults for years to come.

—Kira Street is a member at Lifesource Adventist Fellowship and was a Young Adult ministry leader in the Texas Conference. Photo supplied.