Grace Young Adults

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Erik and I’ll tell you a little more about my story in a minute, but I am on staff here at Grace as of this month. I love sports of all types, I enjoy good food, have 2 awesome kids, 1 beautiful wife, and one other thing you should know about me is that I am not as long winded as the rest of the pastoral team, so we will be done earlier than you are used to today.

According to the Barna Institute 83 million + millennials in the USA. Around 40% of adult population in the USA is in the 18-34 age range.

According to the Barna Institute, Just 2 in 10 Millennials, consider church worthwhile or important.

Or in other words 80% of millennials don’t find church important. This generation, my generation, is the least open to God in the history of America, and Gen Z coming behind it is similar.

Reality is

83 million + millennials in the USA. Somewhere between 35-45% of adult population in the USA is in the 18-34 age range.

Just 2 in 10 Millennials - the largest generation in the workforce across North America - consider church worthwhile or important, which is an all-time low (Barna) - 66% of Millennials perceive churchgoers to be hypocritical (Barna) - Millennials are the least likely age-group to attend church - 87% of Millennials who don't go to church see Christians as judgmental (Barna)

Just 2 in 10 Millennials - the largest generation in the workforce across North America consider church worthwhile or important, which is an all-time low (Barna)

Pew Research found that more than 1/3 of millennials consider themselves religiously unaffiliated

- 59% of millennials who grew up in the church have stopped going (Barna- https://www.barna.com/research/americans-divided-on-the-importance-of-church/) - 66% of Millennials perceive churchgoers to be hypocritical (Barna) - Millennials are the least likely age-group to attend church - 87% of Millennials who don't go to church see Christians as judgmental (Barna)

People are more connected than ever due to social media like facebook, instagram, snapchat, etc.

People are more likely than ever to feel they are too busy,

People are more likely than ever to feel they are too busy, which has led to feelings of loneliness being at an all time high, and more than half of people say they lack a deep connection with any friends.

At the same time, feelings of loneliness are at an all time high, and more than half of people say they lack a deep connection with any friends.

But feelings of loneliness is at an all time high, and more than half of people say they lack a deep connection with any friends.

God declared in Genesis that it is not good for man to be alone, and that is exactly what is taking place!

This is the age we live in and it paints a grim picture.

From what has been communicated to me we are essentially are at Ground zero and haven’t had a thriving group for young adults for a while.

2 Timothy 2:1-13

2 Timothy 2:1–15 ESV

1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. 14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

2 Tim 2:1-15

Nehemiah? Times Satan loves to attack- general overview of the book?

From what has been communicated to me we are essentially are at Ground zero and haven’t had a thriving group

From what has been communicated to me we are essentially are at Ground zero and haven’t had a thriving group fora while.

If we want to be a church for the next generation, then Church we’ve got work to do.

But it also is an opportunity. The church is uniquely positioned to be the answer to many of these problems.

First off, in Spite of all the negative statistics, research also shows 2/3rds of millennials have a positive perspective on faith matters. People are willing and open to talking about faith.

As believers in Christ, I believe we have the opportunity to offer real relationship in a way that no one else can

As well, those in the Millennial and those in Gen Z generation right behind them will more than likely see the fulfillment of the Great Commission!

Lastly, we serve a faithful God.

Transition to who I am:

The pastors have brought me on staff because they are committed to be a church for the next generation.

I, by no means, have all the answers, and am far from perfect, just ask my wife. So I ask for your grace and patience with me as I seek to lead, but I am passionate about seeing young adults lives transformed by the good news of the Gospel.

Who I am- child of divorced parents, raised catholic, moved 6 times including 4 different states before I was 13, because of this I was a people pleaser and sought acceptance from anywhere I could find which led me to put myself in some terrible situations in middle school. It wasnt until high school where I found acceptance and real relationship with others and with Jesus through a combination of the organization Young Life and a local youth group my sophomore year.

Who I am- child of divorced parents, raised catholic, moves, sought acceptance but it wasnt until highschool where I found acceptance and real relationship with others and ultimately with Jesus.

After high school I went to James Madison University where I got involved with Cru as as freshman and that transformed my faith. It was there that I was taught the value of dedicated time in the Bible on my own and not just attending Christian things, it was there that my faith grew through discipleship, it was through a summer mission with Cru to Africa where God called me into ministry, and it was there that I met my wife Kylie! So if you are in high school, check out JMU, it is the best!

Side note, I will go ahead and apologize to all you parents for that out of state tuition bill.

When we graduated there and got married Kylie and I started working for Cru because of the influence Cru had in our lives and the mission of reaching college students. We have been working with Cru for 7 years now. Cru is all about seeing lost students turned into Christ-centered laborers. What Cru has always been known for is discipleship and evangelism. We love getting to work with students in the midst of many of the biggest decisions of their life and bringing everything under the lordship of Christ. We serve with Cru at colleges around Baltimore with my primary responsibilities being Towson and Harford Community College.

At the end of the day though, I am just a sinner that has been saved by grace and

As I step into this new stage of life we would covet your prayers as Kylie and I both will still be working part time with Cru while I will also be working here with the church part time.

Now that you know a little bit about me, lets spend some time in the word. We going to be camping out in 2 Timothy today and I have 2 points for you.

God entrusts ministry to us

God is faithful

2 Timothy was written by Paul to Timothy who was a young pastor that he helped train. It is often assumed this is one of the last books that Paul wrote in the mid 60’s while he awaited his trial in Rome. As you look through this book you can see the tone Paul takes is consistent with someone nearing the end of their life.

When Matt asked me if I owuld preach today a

So with that lets take a look at

Where we are going

If you dont have a bible or app for that, the verses will be on the screen.

God

2 Timothy 2:1–13 ESV

1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:1–13 ESV

1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Big Idea: We serve

Vs. 1-7

One of the things I love seeing through out the bible is how God gives away the ministry. He does what only he can do in changing peoples hearts, and gives the rest away. You look throughout scriptures and you see people who by our standards should have no business being the leaders that God calls and equips.

Paul is a prime example. He was an utmost persecutor of the followers of Jesus and then God radically changes his heart. After that he still speaks about coming in fear and trembling and not having the right words to say to the Corinthians and yet God uses him to change the known world at the time which then Paul passes on to others. You see this in verse 2. Here we see 4 generations of believers in this one verse. You have Paul- 1, Timothy and many witnesses-2, entrust to faithful men- 3, who will be able to teach others- 4. Throughout scriptures you see this command and responsibility of pass this on to the next generation.

Another example is in 2 corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:17–20 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 corinthians 5:17-21

Define ambassador

If you have been reconciled, you are a reconciler, its not bestowed upon certain individuals, that is a command on all of our lives.

The next few verses in 2 Timothy speak to what it looks like to work the ministry using 3 analogies.

The first analogy is with the military and calls us to a singular focus

The second analogy is with an athlete and the importance of obeying the rules or in ministries sake, obeying God’s commands for how one should live their life.

The third analogy is with a farmer. This one is the least clear but scholars believe it is encouraging perseverance

All of these occupations require hard work and ministry is no different. Whether it be in a formal capacity or the hard work of developing a relationship with someone and taking that next step to talk about Jesus with them. God asks us for our first fruits and not our leftovers.

And while we have a responsibility to work hard toward the mission God has given us, I love the promises that are associated with it! God’s mission is always connected with his presence!

Vs. 1 states that we are strengthened by the grace that is in Christ!

And then lets continue in vs. 8.

2 Timothy 2:8–13 ESV

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

vs. 8-13

In the midst of being in prison for the Gospel, Paul sees everything he has done as worth it. Paul has put in the work and has seen God’s faithfulness from delivering him from prison, from stoning, from shipwreck and more.

Paul ends this section with one of my favorite verses.

Walk through 11-13

You see God’s faithfulness throughout scriptures from the countless times in the OT to working with the disciples and their continual just not getting it.

As well, I am sure we could talk the rest of the day if we shared stories of God’s faithfulness in our own lives despite our faithlessness.

There are countless times that we are faithless, but it would be against God’s character to be anything but faithful!

So as we seek to begin this young adults ministry, we are leaning into the promises of God faithfulness and knowing that unless he builds the house we labor in vain, but we also know he has entrusted us with the message and there is hard work to be done.

BIG IDEA: God is faithful, but we have work to do

Psalm 127:1 ESV

1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

I wanted to finish our time with a bit about what I am hoping to see happen with the young adults ministry here at Grace.

My desire and prayer for this ministry is that first and foremost we would be a real, authentic community where people can know Jesus, be equipped to live life on mission, and have opportunities to lead.

vision for next steps- Major pillars/values:

Major pillars/values-

1- Jesus

a. trusting Jesus

b. growing in their faith

2- Community

a. Among individual silos

b. Among all young adult silos

c. Among greater church body

3- Mission

a. equipping on living out their faith

b. equipping on

4- Leadership

a. provide opportunities to lead

b. create pipeline for leading in the church

Oftentimes millennials are portrayed as lazy and entitled and by no means are we perfect. Millennials, its on us to prove that we aren’t. And to those in older generations, you have a choice to make to believe and continue those ideas, or to invest in my generation with our faults and all.

If you are a young adult, I need your help.

My desire is not to come in here and have all the answers because I don’t.

We have tons of issues, but we also have a tremendous desire to change the world and under submission to Christ’s leadership and proper guidance from those that are going before us, we can see the world change and see the Great Commission fulfilled.

If you are an adult who is passionate about the college and post college age group, I need your help.

If

BAND HEAD UP

If you are

I am here as a resource for the young adults of this church. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me I would love to chat with you. My desire is to help equip this next generation of church leaders to seek Christ, love one another, and ultimately reach the world around them.

Action steps

1- Pray! Pray for me as I seek to balance responsibilities of my work with Cru and the launching of this new ministry this year! Pray that God would show you what part he would have you play! Pray that this church would be a place where young adults can find community, can find purpose, and can find hope in Jesus.

2- Be on the look out for some new community groups forming for these age groups.

3- Starting next week, our new Young Adults ministry is going to start doing lunch post church. 15 minutes after service next week meet me in the colonnade and lets do lunch together! No agenda, just time to eat together and get to know one another.

4- If you have are in the 18-30 window or if you have any interest in helping to serve this age group please take out your phone and Text Mill, as in Millennial, to the church text number (410) 618-1010. Do this right now, I will wait a minute for you to do so!

Multiple times in church history from the apostles to the student volunteer movement and beyond God has used teens and 20 somethings to change the world. We are dreaming big, we are praying hard and we are trusting that God will use this next generation and will raise up laborers from this ministry in greater ways than we can imagine to impact lives in Kingsvile, Harford and Baltimore Counties, our state, our nation, and ultimately the nations for the glory of God!

I am here as a resource for the young adults of this church. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me I would love to chat with you. My desire is to help equip this next generation of church leaders to seek Christ, love one another, and ultimately reach the world around them.

We are trusting, praying, and dreaming big that God would use this ministry in greater ways than we can imagine to change our local area and ultimately the world for the glory of God.

Let me pray

Oftentimes millennials are not portrayed in the best of lights. By no means are we perfect. We have tons of issues, but we also have a tremendous desire to change the world for the better and under proper guidance from those that are going before us, we can see wonderful things accomplished for the glory of God

Multiple times in church history God has used teens and 20 somethings to change the world. Our prayer is that God would use this ministry to change our local area and ultimately the world to the glory of God.

Grace Young Adults

Intro

1. God entrusts the ministry to us

2. God equips us

3. God is faithful