CBC College/Young Adults Ministry
February 2020 Update
Hello!
We have been holding (or at least trying to hold) quarterly meetings dedicated to this ministry branch of CBC. These meetings are open to all and we hope everyone can come and:
- Be updated on our various activities and ministries
- Have the opportunity to give feedback and to be heard
- Work and plan together as a body with the same mind and hope
This February, we had our first meeting of 2020! Unfortunately, not everyone could come, either because they were out of town, in school, or were just busy with important life stuff, we understand that we lead busy lives! I would like to update you all on some of the things that we discussed and some of our hopes for this upcoming quarter/year with the hope that we can be aligned as a body with a singular goal and purpose and for the sake of transparency so that we can all be informed on the stuff going on.
Who We Are
We often lose sight of the big picture, so first, here's the CBC College/Young Adults Ministry's vision and strategy:
Vision
Developing courageous disciples of Jesus Christ who impact their generation for the honor of God.
Strategy
- Encouraging YA to be in love with God, His word, His Church, & intergenerational relationships
- Equipping YA to be disciples, to be ministry leaders, to effectively witness to unbelievers
- Challenging YA to reproduce Christ in others, to serve wholeheartedly in Spirit’s power, to show kindness to the needy and surrounding community
Looking Back at 2019
This past meeting, we spent time evaluating our current ministries and giving critiques and feedback. If you weren't at the meeting, we still want to hear from you. Let me know if you have thoughts or feedback (positive OR negative)!
Keywords for 2020
Finally, we looked at our vision and hopes for 2020. One big thing we agreed on was that we want to do more together: more fellowship, more accountability, more growth, more service. We also want to improve communication, be more established in our study, and do ministry more intentionally with purpose.
I have three personal keywords for this year. I hope that you can share in our hopes for 2020 and join us in our shared pursuit of becoming more like Christ as a community and body.
1) Unity - it is of utmost importance that we as a ministry are singularly unified as a body, united by our shared identity in Christ and membership at CBC. This is whether you come to small group, whether you're a youth leader, whether you're in Houston, or even whether English is your first language, we must be extremely intentional about our unity. I can see lines of division in our current group; my friends, the danger of division is one we cannot ignore. For example, whether you go to Sunday School weekly or not, we as a ministry must still unified in our support and care for that ministry and its people. We cannot be a ministry that exists segmented, youth leaders here, Chinese speaking there, and college students as yet another subset. This keyword unity fits into, and is even a more necessary part of our current vision of being peacemakers in the larger church vision.
2) Engagement - it is my hope that we can be an active and engaged community, participating in discipleship, evangelism, service, fellowship, etc. We can work on what we believe and what we value ad nauseum, but if it doesn't result in or lead to action, obedience, and faithfulness, it's all meaningless. If we aren't committed to small groups, meetings, prayer meetings, fellowships or acting out our faith through evangelism, discipleship, missions, and service, then we have to re-examine ourselves. I know I personally have allowed my own laziness, selfishness, and a myriad of other reasons to excuse myself from engaging wholeheartedly in what we're doing; we must move out of that if we want to move forward into a healthy place.
3) Empowerment - our group must be raising up leaders and empowering them to teach, preach, and lead. This ministry does not belong to the select few; if the ministry ever hinges on or is reliant on one or two people, we have set ourselves up for failure. My tenure here is limited, so there is a need for willing and faithful leaders who want to step up and be a part of the overall health of the young adult ministry and the Church as a whole. We want to give you that platform and opportunity to exercise and express your gifts and God-given abilities.
Please let me know how I can serve you better in my time here at CBC and how I can be praying for each of you! Love you all dearly, Robert