Here & Now: Sharing Their Stories, Inspiring Others
It’s 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, and as I sit in a booth in the back and observe the goings-on around me, I’m filled with joy (and some amusement) at what I see. Young adults are flooding into the room, stopping to grab a name tag and some snacks, and greeting each other and their leaders with hugs and smiles. The Young Adult Ministry, or YAM, is filled with a crowd of around 50 young adults, ages 18 to 25, who have come to fellowship, worship, and learn about following God in the “Here and Now”—loving God and walking in obedience today, not just someday in the future. It’s a lesson that we can all learn from.
As I chat with some of the younger members of the group (high school students can attend starting in January of their senior year), they share with me about how welcoming the group has been. “It’s a great community!” “It’s not cliquey.” “Everyone is so welcoming!” These words were repeated again and again by nearly everyone that I spoke with. This is a group where young adults in all different stages of life—from finishing high school, attending college, or working their first full-time job—can find a place to learn from each other and to go deeper in their faith, guided by leaders who are willing to share their time, energy, and encouragement.
One of the unique aspects of YAM is the testimony and worship nights that happen on the first Tuesday of every month. What began last year as YAM leaders sharing their testimonies has turned into an opportunity for members of the group to encourage each other with how God is working in their lives. These first Tuesday testimonies are complimented with a full meal and an extended time of fellowship and worship.
If you have ever shared your testimony in public, you know that it takes courage to get up in front of a group of your peers and share your story. But the YAM leaders have seen that bravery inspires bravery. When one member of the group shares their testimony, it inspires others to be willing to do the same.
“Every name has a story. Every story needs Jesus in it.”
As Pastor Dione Bowlding likes to remind the group, “Everyone has a name. Every name has a story. Every story needs Jesus in it. We encourage everyone to share their story of God’s glory—the story of overcoming because of the gospel.”
These individuals’ stories are a reminder that God is calling the young adults (and also us older adults) to follow Him “here and now.”
As I sat and watched another brave young adult share her testimony, the words of Hebrews 12:1–2 came to mind, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I had the chance to chat with a young woman for a few minutes before the evening officially started, and I asked her why she was sharing her testimony that night. She told me that she has been attending YAM since late September and has been moved by all of the testimonies that she has heard during that time.
She told me a little bit about her background and said, “Everything that I went through was for a reason, and when I share it, people can connect with me when they don’t really connect with ‘church life.’”
Although she admitted to being a little nervous, as she shared her story in front of the group, it became evident as I looked around that not only were the others in the room connecting with her but that she was helping connect them to the God who has written and continues to write her story.
This year, the teachings at YAM have focused on members of that “great cloud of witnesses” from scripture, ranging from Joseph to Esther to Peter. But as each young adult steps up to share their testimony, they are also stepping into that great cloud of witnesses. They are reminding others that they are part of a community that extends beyond Tuesday evenings, and even beyond MACC, both back through history and around the world today. They encourage their fellow believers by offering hope and reminding them that God is present in their struggles. They break down barriers by showing the power of the gospel on a personal level. And as they share, their own faith is strengthened as they see the faithfulness of God in their lives.
“God works in the big things and in the small things.”
As one of the young adults who shared his testimony last year emphasized to me, these testimonies are a reminder that, “God works in the big things and in the small things.” He said, “All the testimonies are different, and people can see that every testimony matters.”
We are a people who thrive on telling and hearing stories. Stories build community and bind us together. When those stories speak of gospel power, they bind us together through faith in the God who is the author of those stories.
YAM has seen this hold true as the openness to sharing stories drives the development of deep friendships within the group, leading to small group Bible studies, social events outside of Tuesday evenings, and the willingness to serve together in other ministries at MACC. These stories provide both the connections and the opportunities for the young adults to pray for each other and to encourage each other to run the race that is set before them, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
They have a long race ahead of them, so what an amazing opportunity to build the foundational relationships that will encourage them both in the “here and now” as well as into the future as God continues to write their stories.
If you would like to help out by providing YAM with a meal on the first Tuesday of an upcoming month, contact Jill at jill.spann@themacc.org. And if you do, make sure that you stay for the worship and testimony. I know that you will be encouraged by seeing what God is doing in the Young Adult Ministry at MACC.
Written by Jen Franzke
Photos by Kelly Haynes