Forward looking...

About a month ago, I was at church with my parents...and I was hyper aware of all the young people at the service, perhaps that was because my parents were with me and I was seeing Bethany through different eyes. But there were soo many young people there, young people who are truly seeking hard after the Lord, young people who are trying to find a place where they feel they can belong, young people who are trying to reconcile their old self with their new self, young people who are looking for ways for them to serve within the community and outside as a community.

Soo...i have never really thought of myself as a leader or a leader of a new idea, but here I find myself doing just that. I have this idea and it is exciting to see that this new idea could truly become a reality, and perhaps I will never be able to see this idea become a reality, but I could help in the creation of it. So Bethany has soo many young adults that attend Sunday services, but many of them just attend and are not involved in any way...I have soo many friends that go to church there and want to get involved, but don't really know where to start or how to help...or they want to serve, but find themselves serving in other organizations outside of the church. Bethany also has a young adults group at the church, and they meet together for social events, but I started thinking...what IF that young adult group met together to do a service project? Would that increase community? Would that appeal to the people who don't go to the young adult group and would that increase their desire to go?

So I started thinking...For me, I would be more interested in doing a service project WITH people at bethany than I would be in doing a social activity...I also think that it would be less awkward for first timers if they felt their hands were being used for something. When I was in Ireland, I participated in this program called Late Love, and a group of college students and post college set up tables outside the church that I was working at and serve coffee/tea and biscuits to people who were out late and most likely drinking at bars on thursday nights from like 11-3AM...BUT before the late night started the volunteers came together to worship before going out and serving, and I just remember thinking how it was such an amazing component. The worship time readied your heart for your time of service....

So i have these hopes and I have these ideas...and I have these plans, and it is so easy to toss them to the wind or just talk about them with your friends, but it is another thing to make your hopes and ideas a reality and to see them unfold right before your very eyes! IT is so very empowering and encouraging to truly realize and fully believe that anything is possible. Plus, now that I have shared my hopes and ideas with all of you and others, I am being held accountable and that in itself is a scary thought!