Pilot Summary: Young Adult LIFE Tour DFW

YOUNG ADULT LIFE TOUR PREMISE
Meeting the call of local churches for training and guidance in developing young adult ministry, Young Adult LIFE Tour, aims to bring equipping and empowering to local churches across the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.

Beyond instructional, the YAL Tour intends to be experiential and interactive, seeking to hold tour stops in local Adventist churches across the nation where vibrant young adult ministry is thriving and bringing vitality to the whole congregation.

In collaboration with AdventSource, it intends to give access, introduction, and orientation to some of the best young adult ministry resources/initiatives in: leaders impact, intergenerational relationships, faith development, and everyday compassion.

The first tour stop has come to the Southwestern Union of Seventh-day Adventists, hosted by the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists at the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church.


YOUNG ADULT LIFE TOUR // MARCH 17-18, 2023 // DFW METROPLEX

Many church leaders, parents, and adult members are eager to discover ways to engage and empower young adults in ministry and create meaningful bonds with local church life. But so often, they are at a loss as to where to start or how to begin building relationship. The Young Adult LIFE Tour intends to bring insights and relevant, doable steps to building young adult ministry now.

The first pilot of the tour was held in the Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists at Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church in the heart of the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The two day event featured presentations from Texas Conference Young Adult Ministry Director, Pastor Justin Yang; University of Texas Arlilngton PhD Candidate, Danielle Quaye; and author of Young Adult Ministry Now, Dr. Steven Argue. The weekend began with Friday evening supper with Dr. Argue, through Sabbath morning services and into early evening with a Young Adult Ministry NOW training intensive.

Here are the messages from the Sabbath morning worship services:


SCHEDULE OVERVIEW

Friday, March 17
5:30PM  -           Check In [Fellowship Hall]   
6:00PM             -           Supper with Dr. Steven Argue             [Fellowship Hall]
8:00PM             -           Young Adult LIFE Resource Fair          [Lobby]

Saturday, March 18
9:00AM            -           Pastor Justin Yang                                [Legacy, Main Auditorium]
10:15AM          -           Danielle Quaye                                     [YG, Main Auditorium]
11:30AM          -           Dr. Steven Argue                                 [Mosaic, Main Auditorium]

1:00PM            -            Lunch                                                   [Revive Community Care]

2:00PM            -          Young Adult Ministry NOW Pt.1           [Fellowship Hall]
2:00PM            -          Global Youth Day Project                      [Revive Community Care]
3:15PM            -           Refreshment Break                                [Lobby]
3:30PM            -           Young Adult Ministry NOW Pt.2         [Fellowship Hall]
5:00PM            -           Conclusion


The afternoon featured training with Dr. Steven Argue from Fuller Youth Institute, with the content of the intensive being based on Argue’s book, Young Adult Ministry NOW.

Young Adult Ministry Now unites fresh wisdom on ministry innovation with Fuller Youth Institute’s landmark Growing Young insights to give you a ministry guide you can count on. Dr. Argue will help you take the guesswork out of young adult ministry with practical strategies to challenge common myths about today’s young adults, focus your creativity, connect courageously, and amplify your ministry. Those who attended received an exclusive ministry resource, newly released by AdventSource and Fuller Youth Institute.

Throughout the weekend there was strong attendance including the young adult ministry team from Grace Temple Church pictured here. A total of ten churches from the Southwestern Union were represented at the tour stop. The afternoon training intensive had over 40 in attendance representing over 15 different ministries.


As part of Young Adult LIFE Tour: DFW, a young adult ministry fair was set up with various tables of ministry opportunities, resources, and networks. Appreciation to @adrainternational @yp.sda @txyouth @nadyouthministries @adventsource @ygchurch @nadvolunteers and others who made it such a fun and informative aspect of the tour stop.

AdventSource was the featured resource center at the tour stop, providing a wide array of young adult ministry resources for display.


By all accounts so far, the DFW pilot of the Young Adult LIFE Tour was an exceptional success. We’re continuing to gather feedback and critique in an effort to assemble data for improvement, refinement, and improved relevance of future tour stops.


Appendix A: Full Bio Listings for Tour Presenters

Steven Argue
Steven Argue, PhD (Michigan State University), is Associate Professor of Youth, Family, and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Applied Research Strategist at the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI). He has worked in multiple ministry contexts as a youth pastor, parachurch leader, pastoral team leader at Mars Hill Bible Church (Grand Rapids, MI), and has served on the board for the Association of Youth Ministry Educators. He researches, speaks, consults, and writes regularly on topics surrounding adolescence, emerging adulthood, faith, and spiritual struggle.

He has authored Young Adult Ministry Now (2022, Fuller Youth Institute) and co-authored three other books: Sticky Faith Innovation: How Your Compassion, Creativity, and Courage Can Support Teenagers’ Lasting Faith (2021, Fuller Youth Institute); Growing With: Every Parent’s Guide to Helping Teenagers and Young Adults Thrive in Their Faith, Family, and Future (2019, Baker); and 18 Plus: Parenting Your Emerging Adults (2018, Orange, The reThink Group, Inc.). He is a contributor to The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Contemporary Christianity in the United States (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), Joy: A Guide for Youth Ministry (Wesley’s Foundery Books, 2020), and Adoptive Youth Ministry: Integrating Emerging Generations into the Family of Faith (Baker Academic, 2016).

Steve lives in Southern California, eats vegetarian, and runs marathons. He’s @stevenargue on social media platforms.

Danielle Quaye
Danielle Quaye’s sole purpose in life is to glorify God in all things and point others to Him. Dani is a daughter, sister, aunt, student, and online content creator. After receiving her bachelors in linguistics, she taught English abroad at the Seventh-day Adventist English language school in Seoul, South Korea. She is currently pursuing her PhD in linguistics. Danielle has a passion for teaching languages, but more importantly, for spreading the word of God, and for personal Bible, study and evangelism.

During her missionary service in South Korea, Dani was active with Kainos English Church, a church plant at SDA Sahmyook Language School. As an undergrad, Dani served as an officer for Adventist Christian Fellowship-University of Texas Arlington. Active in her local church, she created @foundation.yg a young adult LIFEgroup, served as media director, and was mentored in the @ygchurch lead team.

Justin Yang
Pastor Justin Yang is the Young Adult Ministries Director for the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Born in Seoul, Korea, and raised on United States soil, Justin Yang has served children, youth, campus, young adult, senior and inter-generational ministries in various parts of the world for over 20 years. He started preaching at three years old, got baptized at seven and received the call the ministry at the age of 16.

Yang’s first international mission trip was to San Paulo, Venezuela, with Maranatha Volunteers. He was the youngest student missionary to be sent to India through the 1000 Missionary Movement.

He also served as a chaplain (also a cook and transportation admin) in the Korean army while conscientiously objecting to bearing arms like Desmond Doss.

Yang is a proud graduate of both Sahmyook University, South Korea, and the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan; He is the beaming dad to Enoch and Stella and a grateful husband to Iris who said “Yes!” Together, they have a dream to see all of our local Seventh-day Adventist churches becoming the best place for all generations to grow together.


Appendix B: Young Adult Ministry NOW as Featured Resource

Click the above icon for a sample chapter from Young Adult Ministry NOW.

Building on over a dozen years of research working intensively with over 40 congregations, 80 ministry leaders, and 80 young adults, Young Adult Ministry Now unites fresh wisdom on ministry innovation with Fuller Youth Institute’s landmark Growing Young insights to give you a ministry guide you can count on. It helps take the guesswork out of young adult ministry with practical strategies to challenge common myths about today’s young adults, focus your creativity, connect courageously, and amplify your ministry.

Author, Steven Argue, PhD (Michigan State University), is Associate Professor of Youth, Family, and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Applied Research Strategist at the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI). He has worked in multiple ministry contexts as a youth pastor, parachurch leader, pastoral team leader at Mars Hill Bible Church (Grand Rapids, MI), and has served on the board for the Association of Youth Ministry Educators. He researches, speaks, consults, and writes regularly on topics surrounding adolescence, emerging adulthood, faith, and spiritual struggle. Steve lives in Southern California, eats vegetarian, and runs marathons. He’s @stevenargue on social media platforms.

TOUR TRAINING PRIMER: YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY NOW
Thanks to collaboration between Fuller Youth Institute and AdventSource, a printed, hard copy, edition of Argue’s book was made available exclusively to intensive training attendees.


Appendix C: Younger Generation Church as Tour Host

Part of the tour intent is to hold tour stops in local church settings where there is a thriving young adult ministry. Younger Generation Church [@ygchurch] was selected to host the pilot of the Young Adult LIFE Tour. YG is the vibrant young adult ministry of the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church, Texas. They aspire to deepen their devotion to Jesus through intimacy with GOD, community with each other, and overlowing grace to the world. @ygchurch


Appendix D: What is Young Adult LIFE?

Young Adult LIFE connects and empowers an emerging generation of leaders to be changemakers in the Church, marketplace, and culture.

Based on an interdisciplinary framework for ministry leadership development, Young Adult LIFE endeavors to cultivate personal core competencies in these arenas:

Leadership Impact
Intergenerational Relationships
Faith Development
Everyday Compassion


LEADERSHIP IMPACT

LEADERSHIP IMPACT  Leadership influence emerges from personal transformation and growth. Leaders invest themselves in life-long learning. They cultivate a culture empowering the next generation of influencers and innovators; They actively model and …

LEADERSHIP IMPACT
Leadership influence emerges from personal transformation and growth. Leaders invest themselves in life-long learning. They cultivate a culture empowering the next generation of influencers and innovators; They actively model and teach, they vision and team together with those they lead. Leaders work collaboratively to adapt to change, identify core values, also produce constructive results in individual and collective settings—being conscientious to combine wisdom with innovation.

• Training [Identify elements of leadership, obtain instruction, implement, feedback, Kolb learning cycle]
Leadership Skills Development [Elements and progression, evaluation, change, applications]
Mentoring & Being Mentored [Identify mentors and mentees, topics/curriculum, reflection, formal and informal]

[aka Cultivate Empowerment--iCOR; Keychain Leadership--GYA; Empowering Leadership--NCD; Lead Self--AdventHealth]


Leadership Impact Resources


INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS Leaders foster warm, loving community across the generations, where the participation and interconnection of all ages is valued and practiced. They sharpen empathy, authenticity, and care as keystones to leadership.• …

INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Leaders foster warm, loving community across the generations, where the participation and interconnection of all ages is valued and practiced. They sharpen empathy, authenticity, and care as keystones to leadership.

• Caring, Listening, Understanding [Empathy, engagement, investment]
Connecting Intergenerationally [What it is, how to do it, where it’s already done and can be done]
Participating [Proactively Engage Youth & Young Families Everywhere]

[aka Foster Relationships--iCOR; Fuel Warm Community--GYA; Loving Relationships--NCD; Lead Others--AdventHealth]


Intergenerational Relationship Resources


FAITH DEVELOPMENT

FAITH DEVELOPMENT  Leaders nurture Christ-centered spiritual growth that stems from a passionate love for Him. They foster faith habits and practices that engage the Scriptures as a dynamic compass for maturing in Christ, worshiping Him with their l…

FAITH DEVELOPMENT
Leaders nurture Christ-centered spiritual growth that stems from a passionate love for Him. They foster faith habits and practices that engage the Scriptures as a dynamic compass for maturing in Christ, worshiping Him with their lives, and following His lead in all things.

• Worshiping [Jesus-centered and celebrated, praise, testimony, music, commitment]
Teaching [Discovery, renewal, sharing, interaction, application]
Formation: Developing Spirituality [Spiritual Disciplines]

[aka Nurture Spiritual Growth--iCOR; Taking Jesus’ Message Seriously--GYA; Passionate Spirituality--NCD; Lead Whole-Self--AdventHealth]]


Faith Development Resources


EVERYDAY COMPASSION

EVERYDAY COMPASSION Leaders serve the needs of others out of a genuine love and interest in their present and eternal well-being. They share the Gospel compassionately with those seeking reconciliation with GOD in both verbal and non-verbal ways. Th…

EVERYDAY COMPASSION
Leaders serve the needs of others out of a genuine love and interest in their present and eternal well-being. They share the Gospel compassionately with those seeking reconciliation with GOD in both verbal and non-verbal ways. They deploy their skills and abilities for the good of others in a manner that allows the Holy Spirit to work in the mundane, the miraculous, and everything in between.

• Serving [Felt needs, hands-and-feet, ears-and-mouth of Jesus, action, short-term and long-term]
Sharing [Testimony, proclaim, accept, identify “Good News,” listen, connect]
Reconciling [Listen well, sympathize and empathize, prioritize, forgive, flows from Christ connection]
Applying Giftedness [Identify by action-reflection, expecting God in the mundane and miraculous]

[aka Promote Mission--iCOR; Be the Best Neighbors--GYA; Need-Oriented Evangelism--NCD; Lead Results--AdventHealth]


Everyday Compassion Resources