VIEW FROM THE MANSE 2.0 - MARCH 2024
A couple of times I have mentioned the monthly study that I am hosting for young adults and I want to explain a little about it here. When I first came to New York in 2016, someone mentioned to me, “We don’t have anything in our community aimed at young adults.” I looked around. I asked around. He was right. I couldn’t find anything from an organizational or programmatic standpoint.
To be clear, I am not sure that the church needs a program for every age group or life stage. I am not sure that is even possible. But our Young Life leaders work very hard to reach high schoolers for Jesus, and when those high schoolers graduate, they have nobody to ‘hand them off to.’ Some of these young men and women are new Christians. All of them are going through significant changes in their lives. And they could use friendship from older, more experienced Christians, a listening ear and perhaps some guidance.
I kept wanting the perfect conditions to make this happen, but waiting for perfection meant it just wasn’t happening. So, I started it and am building the plane as we fly. I am calling this get together, A Strong Future. The idea for the name springs from 1 John 2, “I write to you, young people, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” The name is a bit cheesy, I know. But I needed a name if attendees were going to invite their friends. If you have a better idea for a name, I would love to hear it.
We are meeting on the last Tuesday of the month at 7pm. We begin by having snacks and meeting some new people. It would be wonderful to have some sort of game or icebreaker to begin our time. Then we have a talk on something pertinent to young adults from a Biblical perspective. Last month we talked about, “How to Have a Meaningful Life.” In the future I would like to discuss families, sex, politics, the podcast “Red-Pilled America”, spiritual disciplines or habits, mental illness, physical wellness, etc.
What are my hopes for this time? I would love to connect with the young people in our area. I give out my phone number at every meeting and invite anyone to text or call if I can be of help. This evening is aimed at Washington and Warren counties. If there are some attendees who are not connected to a church, I would love for them to find one. We are working with Pine Knolls to make this happen, but we are happy to work with other faithful churches in the area who are interested.
I would love to have some older adults who are interested in connecting with young adults and perhaps, walking with them through some discipleship materials, join us. It would be wonderful if this time could lead young adults into weekly Bible studies. I would love to include praise and worship during this time and for it to be led by young adults with a variety of different speakers.
It may become none of these things. But we will leave that to the Lord and build as we can. I have had a number of people ask, “How old do I need to be to attend.” The general guideline is 18-30, but if you think this would serve you or you want to build a relationship and disciple a young adult, please join us.
Bryan Fitzgerald, Pastor
(bryan@argylepresbyterian.org
To be clear, I am not sure that the church needs a program for every age group or life stage. I am not sure that is even possible. But our Young Life leaders work very hard to reach high schoolers for Jesus, and when those high schoolers graduate, they have nobody to ‘hand them off to.’ Some of these young men and women are new Christians. All of them are going through significant changes in their lives. And they could use friendship from older, more experienced Christians, a listening ear and perhaps some guidance.
I kept wanting the perfect conditions to make this happen, but waiting for perfection meant it just wasn’t happening. So, I started it and am building the plane as we fly. I am calling this get together, A Strong Future. The idea for the name springs from 1 John 2, “I write to you, young people, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” The name is a bit cheesy, I know. But I needed a name if attendees were going to invite their friends. If you have a better idea for a name, I would love to hear it.
We are meeting on the last Tuesday of the month at 7pm. We begin by having snacks and meeting some new people. It would be wonderful to have some sort of game or icebreaker to begin our time. Then we have a talk on something pertinent to young adults from a Biblical perspective. Last month we talked about, “How to Have a Meaningful Life.” In the future I would like to discuss families, sex, politics, the podcast “Red-Pilled America”, spiritual disciplines or habits, mental illness, physical wellness, etc.
What are my hopes for this time? I would love to connect with the young people in our area. I give out my phone number at every meeting and invite anyone to text or call if I can be of help. This evening is aimed at Washington and Warren counties. If there are some attendees who are not connected to a church, I would love for them to find one. We are working with Pine Knolls to make this happen, but we are happy to work with other faithful churches in the area who are interested.
I would love to have some older adults who are interested in connecting with young adults and perhaps, walking with them through some discipleship materials, join us. It would be wonderful if this time could lead young adults into weekly Bible studies. I would love to include praise and worship during this time and for it to be led by young adults with a variety of different speakers.
It may become none of these things. But we will leave that to the Lord and build as we can. I have had a number of people ask, “How old do I need to be to attend.” The general guideline is 18-30, but if you think this would serve you or you want to build a relationship and disciple a young adult, please join us.
Bryan Fitzgerald, Pastor
(bryan@argylepresbyterian.org
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