GOODlife Year-In-Review
On July 14, 2023, GOODlife officially kicked off with a talk from Pastor Walt Nilson on Christ and Culture. Back then, I envisioned GOODlife as a space for young adults that could spark conversations about living well in Christ. That first event was just about everything I could have hoped for. Walt’s talk was brilliant, encouraging us to think about engaging with culture in a redemptive manner rather than caving to its pressure or simply standing outside condemning it. That talk sparked some great conversations in the weeks that followed.
Throughout the Fall, we had a different guest join us in the Redeeming Grace foyer each month on a Friday evening. We talked about the great imbalance in missions, how our faith interacts with the workplace, what Christian stewardship looks like in practice, and the uniting power of Kingdom of God across language and cultural divides. I am so grateful for those guest speakers who took the time to speak to our small gathering of young adults.
But, by Winter, I noticed that my vision for the ministry was misaligned with what our church needed. Many who attended GOODlife events were already deeply involved in Christian community. Certainly, a space for Christian conversations was still good. But, for the young adults who were not as connected to Redeeming Grace, they just needed opportunities to connect.
Today, GOODlife has broadened its vision to include creating connection points and fellowship opportunities for young adults in the Redeeming Grace community. We still plan on having speaker series events once a quarter to continue sparking great conversations. Our next speaker series events will be in September and November. But we’ll also do things like the Super Bowl party we hosted at the church in February and the Day Hike we’re headed off on this Saturday. Keep an eye out for upcoming events, including a potential summer pool party and December’s Christmas party.
Thankfully, this ministry isn’t solely reliant on me to make things happen. Scotty Stevenson and Madison Mansfield have been essential to what we pulled off this first year. And I’m thankful that to have them on GOODlife Leadership Team.
As we enter a new ministry year, would you pray for us? Pray that our efforts would allow young adults in our church to develop greater connections to Christian community. Pray that we would continue to have great conversations about living well in Christ. And pray that the young adults at Redeeming Grace would be faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ among their friends, neighbors, co-workers, and in the broader community.