“The Young Adult LIFE Tour was a great reminder of the power we have as young adults through God,” shared Madeline Small, coordinator of the Dallas chapter of Adventist Young Professionals. “The tour presenters showed us how we can use that God-given influence to affect change in the lives of those around us for the better.”
Meeting the call of local churches for training and guidance in developing young adult ministry, Young Adult LIFE Tour aims to equip and empower individual churches across the North American Division. The tour’s first stop was this spring in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, hosted by the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Many church leaders, parents and adult members are eager to discover ways to engage and empower young adults in ministry and to create meaningful bonds within local church life. But, so often, they are at a loss for where to start or how to begin building relationships. The Young Adult LIFE Tour offers insights as well as relevant, doable steps toward building young adult ministry now. At this inaugural DFW tour stop, church members, leaders and young adults from across the Southwestern Union gathered for inspiration and intensive training.
“It was enlightening and useful to know the many ways young adults can and should be reached,” shared Kyle Barrow, associate pastor of Auburn City Seventh-day Adventist Church and a recent graduate from Southwestern Adventist University.
The DFW tour stop featured presentations from Danielle Quaye, Pastor Justin Yang, and Dr. Steven Argue. The highlights included informal meals to share stories, a young adult ministry resource fair featuring AdventSource, Sabbath sermons and an afternoon “Young Adult Ministry NOW” training intensive.
“I was challenged by Dr. Argue’s sermon, which highlighted that we ought to do life with people—not just cheer them on from the sidelines, but run the race with them,” reflected young adult Danielle Quaye, a linguistics doctoral student at the University of Texas Arlington. “That’s what Christ has done for us. He came down to Earth and ran the race and showed us His love in human flesh. I was inspired to do the same.”
“The DFW Young Adult LIFE Tour was one of the most practical and resourceful events to date, with Dr. Steven Argue training and presenting the latest research on the 18-30 age bracket,” raved Justin Yang, Young Adult Ministry director for the Texas Conference. “It opened up much-needed and long-overdue conversations with young adults on their stages of development, along with their relationship with the church and leadership.”
The Sabbath services introduced hundreds of local church members to Young Adult LIFE, the NAD’s young adult discipleship framework giving focus to leadership impact, intergenerational relationships, faith development, and everyday compassion. Nearly a dozen churches from across the Southwestern Union participated at the tour stop. The afternoon training intensive drew representatives from more than 15 different ministries, with over 40 church leaders in attendance, including Elton DeMoraes, Texas Conference president.
“My family and I were blessed by the Young Adult LIFE Tour DFW,” affirmed Dr. DeMoraes. “The presenters shared many valuable insights and best practices to start and sustain young adult ministries in a local church. The fresh and meaningful content, and the conversations around the table, challenged us to think outside the box to reach this important age group.”
“It was a wonderful, enlightening experience that was greatly appreciated,” expressed Reggie and Timm Sharper, leaders of the Grace Temple Now young adult ministry in Fort Worth, Texas. “Dr. Argue was able to illustrate strong Christian concepts in a language young adults could easily understand and identify with. There are times when the wellsprings of knowledge that you seek come near to you; this was one of those moments.”
A young adult ministry fair at the tour stop featured various tables with ministry opportunities, resources and networks. AdventSource provided a wide array of young adult ministry resources for display, and those attending the afternoon training received a copy of Dr. Argue’s new book, “Young Adult Ministry NOW.”
“Pastor Steven Argue’s workshop opened a much-needed discussion on how to connect with young adults,” commented Kellany Freitas, a worship leader at Comunidad Aliento in Fort Worth. “The tour helped us feel seen in the midst of a church culture that sometimes neglects our needs.”
“What I loved about the tour,” reflected Argue, “was the wide range of leaders who gathered: senior leaders, youth pastors and young adults themselves. Young adult ministry impacts us all, and these gatherings are providing hopeful, informative and supportive ways forward for our churches and faith communities.”
“I would love to see more experiences like these!” exclaimed Freitas. “It was a privilege being a part of such a God-led event.”
The Young Adult LIFE Tour intends to be experiential and interactive, seeking to make stops across the division in local Adventist churches where vibrant young adult ministry is thriving and bringing vitality to the entire congregation.
The next tour stop is slated for June 23-24, hosted by Praxis at the Loma Linda University Church of Seventh-day Adventists, in the Pacific Union. Then the tour will visit Central Florida in the Southern Union on Oct. 21, hosted by Spring Meadows Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 2024, the tour will spend Jan. 26-27 in the Mid-America Union, hosted by Well Worship at the College View Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lincoln, Neb. Plans are being made to hold the Young Adult LIFE Tour in the Canadian and North Pacific Unions in the near future.
“Young Adult Life Tour provided an opportunity for church leaders, members and families to come together and share—with vulnerability—all of their experiences with church, which strengthened our sense of belonging,” summarized Pastor Jazzmine Bankston, of Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church. “I appreciated the discussions on ways we can become better listeners with each other and close the generational gaps that silo us demographically, to instead bring us closer together as a church community.”
For more information on Young Adult LIFE and the Young Adult LIFE Tour, visit youngadultlife.com.
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Allan Martin, Ph.D., is the teaching pastor of Younger Generation Church [ygchurch.com], the vibrant young adult ministry of the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church in Texas.
A version of this article appeared in the September/October 2023 issue of the Southwestern Union Record.
