Young Adults Ministry Spotlight

by Matt Ferris, Associate Director of Engagement, Young Adults

You launched a series of YA events this summer. What motivated you to do so?

Finding a community after college is hard. And it’s even more difficult to find a community where you feel like you can be authentically “you” and move beyond the surface level to talk about things that actually matter—including weighty topics like faith and purpose. Our hope was to offer small, fun, and easy spaces where young adults could just show up and spend time with people that are in their same stage of life.

What excites you about this age group and the value and place they have here at CPC?

Every generation brings a valuable perspective to a church community, so while we want to serve and develop young adults, we also need to recognize that we deeply need them in our community.

The young adults I see today share a lot of the values that you see in the Acts 2 church. Emerging adults today are community-focused, aware of the needs of the people around them, and celebrate the diversity of experiences in their circles. They tend to be really open, and when they find something that really matters—like faith in Jesus Christ—they pursue it passionately and invite others into the fold.

Having more of this generation involved really excites me for the future of the greater Church and the future of CPC.

What challenges do you face as you seek to engage this age group with the life of the church?

I think there is this narrative inside churches that young adults are disinterested in faith, but time and time again I experience the opposite. Young adults are in a unique stage of life where they are already exploring big things like meaning, vocation, and spirituality—and asking big questions like “Is there more to life than just going to work and coming home at night?”

But the catch is that they often don’t feel like they have a space to belong in their local church. They often feel like church is not for them. I want young adults to know that they have a place here at CPC where they are free to explore faith and ask the questions that are really on their hearts.

What’s next at CPC for young adults?

One of the new opportunities this fall is a young adults Sunday Community during our new Community@10 hour. We hope that this will be a place where our young adults can build relationships with one another while also exploring Scripture and topics of faith. We are also in the midst of organizing some specific events throughout the fall and winter, which will be added to the young adults page of our website.

We will also be offering another Alpha course in early 2022, which will be great for anyone who is new to faith or wants to learn more about Christianity in a safe, judgment-free environment.

How can the church support and be praying for young adults?

Pray for God to move in these emerging generations. And pray for young adults who are new to the church or who haven’t been to church in a while. It can be intimidating to try out a new church, so pray that the Spirit is very apparent to them in their experiences here at CPC.

Another easy thing that anyone can do is be open, warm, and welcoming to young adults who come through our doors. Strike up a conversation and ask how they’re doing. We can offer a bunch of great programs, but the real way to make people feel like they belong is to be welcomed by everyday people in our congregation.