Youth and Young Adult Ministry (YAYAM) Kick Off
Sep 10th, 2022
To kick off our ministries, we decided to do something different and begin the semester all together as youth and young adults. We rarely have such events all together and so we wanted to gather together to get to know each other as brothers and sisters. As we gathered, we could see how significant such types of gatherings can be particularly for the youth. The youth can see their older brothers and sisters hopefully look forward to the future of being a young adult, getting matched and Blessed. We had several people there who were matched or Blessed.
We had 22 youth and 25 young adults gather together. The YAYAM kick off consisted of different activities to create a space for the youth and young adults to mingle and get to know each other. We had the youngest being 11 years and oldest being 32 years old. It was great to see how everyone connected in conversation and fun beyond the age gap.
Part of the program we wanted to create a space to discuss and talk about what kind of culture we want to create that we can be proud of and invite friends to. Erika Gordon, a Young Adult Ministry Leader, guided the Culture of Heart activity and talked about having God centered interactions with one another, what does shinjeong and culture of heart mean. In small groups, everyone had a chance to brainstorm and share what that kind of culture looks like and that we can create. It was an engaging and uplifting activity to encourage everyone in creating and being a part of such a culture that is embracing, filled with love, as one family, welcoming, etc.
Many shared their appreciation in having a combined kick off event as they did not know their younger brothers or sisters or vice versa. It was a great time of fellowship where brothers and sisters caught up with their favorite snacks.
Moving forward we want to continue emphasizing the culture of heart with clear points and steps in how we can create a ministry and community we are proud of and encourage in inviting friends. Particularly for the youth it will take constant reminders and clear points to help them understand and create a welcoming environment for new youth to join.
Report by Gabby von Euw, Youth and Young Adult Ministry Coordinator
Photos taken by Keanu Wright, Youth Ministry Leader
Participant takeaways:
Kick-Off was Super Awesome !! My Takeaways is really understanding what it means to be a part of this community and how we can create a culture where we can support, accept, give, love, invest etc. This was something I needed because I’ve always wanted to make an impact on the youth who are struggling with certain points in their life !
- Young Adult, Brother
My main takeaway from this kick off was how I can personally work on make a culture of heart.
- Young Adult, Sister
Hope for the semester:
Just get closer with friends and let the younger kids have as much fun as I did when I was their age.
- High School Brother
Be more adventurous. Start the bigger things I keep talking about wanting to do
- Young Adult, Brother
