Tomorrow Starts Now:
Young Adult Commission begins its work

A long-term plan often begins with short-term goals.

The new Young Adults Commission, called together by Disciples Home Missions and supported by HELM, started its work by planning events for this summer's General Assembly before envisioning how the renewed ministry will work.

Only 9 percent of Disciples meet the definition of "young adults," people between the ages of 18 and 35, according to a 2003 survey. Increasing that number is vital to the denomination's viability. Working with its motto, "Tomorrow Starts Now," the commission laid the foundation for how the church's young adult ministry will take shape by:

• Designing a new web site specifically for young adult ministries. The site will come online within the next few months.

• Communicating through existing listservs such as the DiscipleYoungAdults list on yahoo.com (http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/DiscipleYoungAdults), the Student Ecumenical Partnership (http://www.stepnetwork.org) and others.

• Asking regions to identify primary coordinators for young adult ministries, to provide contact information for camp participants, and to set aside at least $100 for young adult programming if they are not already funding such ministries.

• Developing an easily updated online database with contact information to help young adults develop better networks, both locally and across the broader church,

• Beginning discussions about fund-raising and development to provide a consistent funding source for young adult ministries.

Starting with a simple question - What would need to take place at General Assembly to make it a meaningful experience for young Adults? - the commission organized a series of workshops and informal gatherings for this summer's General Assembly focusing on the role young adults will play in the church. Details regarding those young adult workshops and gatherings will be available when the final schedule for General Assembly is announced. Young Adults will be full participants in the worship and business of the Assembly.

The commission created its own guidelines for the rotation of members. At DHM's request, the board's roster will remain the same through the next two General Assemblies.

"As we look around our denomination, I really see young adult ministry and new church growth as a rallying force within our church," said John Davidson, a campus minister at the University of Florida. "When we reflect on our history as Disciples, we realize that young adults have always been vital to our denomination and that this will continue into the future," he said, noting the denomination's founders were young adults."

"So many ideas were made realities this weekend, and more will soon follow," said Beau Underwood, a student at Eureka College and a member of the Student Ecumenical Partnership Leadership Team. "An active young adult ministry strengthens the entire denomination and I think this group is dedicated to that cause. Our theme, "Tomorrow Starts Now," really illustrates our approach to this mission."

Alison Williams, a senior at Indiana University and a HELM Leadership Fellow, is also on the commission.

General ministry staff serving the commission include DHM's Jane Lawrence and HELM's Brad Lyons.