Equipping young adults to share their faith with their peers will be the focus of “Reach,” a new one-day event to be held during the convention of the International Lutheran Laymen’s League, July 24-27 in Lexington, Ky.
The Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) Reach effort on July 26 will include training workshops and Bible studies focused on outreach.
Faith Spelbring, Reach track planner, said the format for the event was developed through insight from volunteers and LHM staff focus groups between the ages of 25 and 35, the targeted ages of the conference, as well as older and younger staff who “understand the mindset and challenges of this age group.
“These younger adults … are no longer ‘youth’ and are often working toward building their career and family,” Spelbring said. “Younger adults need someone to speak to their needs as single or newly married adults or first-time parents and give them tools to answer the world’s questions and their own.”
Some of these questions include:
- How do you share your faith in a culture that seems to attack it?
- How do you live out your faith in a world that pressures young adults to explore sexuality, climb the corporate ladder, and value individuality over the community?
- How do you share Christianity in such a pluralistic environment?
Spelbring acknowledged that these issues are not unique to young adults, but emphasized that the church needs to “address these concerns in ways that are relevant to this age group.”
Among the presenters at the conference will be Sarah Guldalian, coordinator of LHM’s “Equipping to Share” program, who will offer participants ways to share their faith in their daily lives.
Additional workshops include “Singled Out: Serving as a Christian Single in Today’s Culture” by DCE Michelle Connor of Tustin, Calif.; “Empowering your Family to Witness” by Rev. Tony and Jennifer Boos of Troy, Mich., together with four of their children; and two sessions led by Dr. Adam Francisco, guest professor of historical theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, titled “Christianity and the World’s Religions” and “Contending for the Faith in the 21st Century.”
Participants attending the one-day Reach event are encouraged to attend the full Int’l LLL convention to “experience more of what LHM is about by hearing ministry presentations that will share how LHM proclaims the Gospel and helps churches do the same through LHM’s many outreach programs,” said Spelbring.
LHM will strategically create more programs, such as Reach, “that address the unique outreach challenges of this demographic and gives them the ability to effectively engage their community for Christ,” she added.
For more information, contact Spelbring at (800) 944-3450, Ext. 4209, or by e-mail at faith.spelbring@lhm.org, or visit the Web site www.lhm.org/reach to download a registration form.
Posted March 20, 2008
