DAYA Enews -November 2009 Article

New Ministry for Young Adults in the Northwest Metro Atlanta Area:

“A new young adult ministry is in the works for the northwestern part of the Atlanta Metro area, offering fellowship and worship for college aged and young adults. This new ministry is parish based, but will serve multiple parishes and rotate locations to serve the needs of the members.”

When asked why I was interested in forming a new young adult ministry, I started to think about my own experiences within the church. There has always been a general idea that there was a missing element within the church community as a whole. The one group that I really didn’t encounter was an elusive specimen known as a young adult, which I understand is a portion of “nomadic” church members who occasionally attends service. The absences of these people made me wonder several things, 1) where were these individuals, 2) did these young adults just not care, and 3) how do we bring them back?

The simplest explanation to answer where the young adults were was an easy question – somewhere else. I started to wonder if there was just a time when we as young adults merely fell off the radar in between youth group and having a child. That answer too, seemed fairly simple to answer and yet it offered no real comfort as why I felt alone or misplaced within the church. It’s hard to find a place or identity within a community where the age group as a whole is always adrift in the whirlwind of transition from “college kid” to an adult ready to take on the world. It took the transition from Auburn, AL to the metro Atlanta area to make me realize that missed being involved with a community of my peers in a parish setting. That realization led to conversations sparked the idea of new ministry specifically for young adults that was not a parish ministry, but instead a ministry of parishes. Not identified with a single parish, but with several parishes to allow a group of individuals to form an additional opportunity for community and fellowship. This group will serve the northwest metro Atlanta area and serve both college aged and young adults in monthly fellowship activities.

Our first activity will be a potluck dinner at 7pm on November 15th at Christ Church. The church is located at 1210 Wooten Lake Rd NW Kennesaw, GA 30144-1347. The main dish will be provided, but everyone should bring a side dish of some sort to this meet and greet. Please note that because of the approaching Advent Season will not be meeting until January. If you have any questions, contact Sean Holder 678-230-9214 or e-mail at nwatlepiscopalya@gmail.com