#Extending our reach, to reach the lost - PART 2

I'm going to be talking about something a little bit

different, you know, already were talking about spaces.

So it's in this context were talking about spaces but I don't

get to knock down walls, as exciting as that.

Would be as a project, I'd love to oversee, something like that.

Maybe that's the next thing I could be doing next year more,

we can think about that. We're talking about a different

type of space. But spaces are all contextually

their places. There are opportunities there

avenues for people to come into contact with Jesus.

Are people who maybe haven't come into contact with Jesus yet

or maybe people who have understood something?

Jesus something of God add that needs to be welcomed in deeper

and so we're talking about that in the context of this, we are

talking about young adults, so yeah, yeah, this is very

exciting rather. I've been hyped about this for a

long time, but the opportunity is now our visits so the key

group that the laws needing us to now and like Mark said, we

don't just kind of pick a map and put some dots in of where we

think is a good place to aim. We strategically pray.

Now we seek God's spirit. Hey, stir stuff within us.

We move at and say he's been doing that in US, particularly

around. This age group are young adults.

So, I'm talking around 18 to 25, young adults.

Could be a little bit younger than that.

Could be a little bit older than that, but this is specifically

that age group, but but why is this age group?

So critical I hear you ask at every age and stage of church.

Family is vital, isn't it? We're not specialize in a

certain area in a unique way. We're not saying this area of

church. Life is better than any other

area. We are all unique, we will

gifted I will have a special place in God's kingdom, but why

in this age group? Are we looking at that bone?

Look at Bible, verse for help us.

Think about that. So, we're going to go to

Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 and this is

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

verses 11 to 16. And it says this.

So Christ himself gave the apostles Prophets, The

evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers to equip his

people. For works of survey that the

body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the

faith. And in the knowledge of the Son

of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure

of the fullness of Christ. And we will no longer be infant

us back and forth by the way. And blown here and there by

every wind of teaching by the cunning and craftiness of people

in their deceitful scheming. Instead be thinking the truth in

love we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of

him. Who is the head that is Christ

from him. The whole body Jordan held

together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself

up in love as each part. Does its work.

Work at down my role here. As a pastor is to oversee, some

of that stuff happening in our church, family, as a church.

Pastor group, how we oversee that for our zeros to 99 + add

that might be a 50 Road. Might be a fire five-year-old.

At it might be a single, it might be a parody, might be

both, it might be, neither we're here to support and oversee and

to bless people as they grow in their wall.

But notice in those verses, A collective responsibility to our

work all together as a family as a group to do the work of

ministry as pastors. We are enabling equipping it

equipping but it's on us all as a family to do the work of

ministry. And so as a group, we are

empowered. We are strengthened to love and

serve and bless and disciple. A one another.

There's a phrase that's big in the vineyard movement.

Everyone gets to play some of us, might be feeling familiar

with that phrase if you're not there.

Gain familiarity at the idea that every age and stage of

life, you are part of this journey, you are part of making

things happen. We're doing this together.

So why this age group? Why 18 to 25 why now?

There's two big reasons and then I'm going to go on to a few

others. But two big reasons, if you look

around you might not spot. Many 1825.

A gap avoid points to a need, doesn't it?

And so as a church family we are impoverished by not having

certain demographics. Represent it.

That's point one. We don't have 1825 gathered here

in many numbers. At the second thing is those who

are here and we love you, we don't do a great job of

nurturing as supporting a blessing.

You we have lots of Ministries to up for other age groups.

We do very well under 18s but there are some gaps in our

ministry. This particular Gap that the

Lord's highlighted with 18 to 25 is at.

But I want to take this point. This moment just to say we have

noticed the Gap in 1825. Yes, but you might notice gaps

elsewhere in our church family. We are all on this Mission

together. Everyone gets to play as the

maybe if you spot a gap and maybe that's the Lord stirring

something in you to make a difference in that area.

I'm until it's one of the church pastors and see how you could be

serving to fill some of those gaps, but we're thinking about

18, 20, 25 Smalling. So I had one is, there are not

many 18 to 25 in our church family and the 18 to 25 in our

church family. Don't get the support and

discipleship Bailey. But there are other factors

contributing to Y, 18, to 25 Y in this season of the church in

the UK. And you could say globally

looking at statistic, why is it now that we wanted to focus on

1825? Other news analogy, as some of

you are Flyers, frequent fliers. I'm not a frequent flyer and I'm

definitely not a frequent long-haul flyer.

If you're a long-haul fly there, you might be familiar with the

effect that Tailwinds and headwinds have on a journey.

You might be Either, if you're flying into a headwind, it just

takes that little bit longer to get to the destination.

There are seven hour flight to America might be affected by as

much as an hour, if you've got a tail wind, that's the idea that

you've got a bit of a push from a gale, the wind itself, helping

you in that direction. And so things are a bit quicker,

things are a bit smoother. You'll shave off some of that

travel time at now. There are cultural head win and

cultural tell win that effect. Gospel progress.

I want to look at these together, but as I do as we do,

I want us to be aware and holding tension.

These two important gospel truths that were talking about

Tailwinds of headwinds as if God needs a hand or as if God's

hindered we know that's not true.

We serve a powerful good Mighty God and he is not affected by

culture. His gospel purposes are not

slowed up or sped up by what's happening around her.

But at the same time we want to be culturally sensitive and

aware of what's happening in the world around us that we can

speak into situations. Well, And find opportunities for

breast, the gospel. And so I'm going to talk about

three Tailwinds and three headwinds just but with a

headwind things that might slow up some gospel progress,

shrinking nominalism, you might be aware of.

Your mind will be aware of covid.

Had a pretty big effect on people.

A particular Church setting and there's a group of people who

might have come along to church at nominally, maybe Christmas

Easter or maybe every other month or pin and see what's

going on in a church. That number of people has shrunk

dramatically over the past two years, in 1825 that has shrunk,

right back that there's less people nominally attending a

church BT. And as we know, sitting under

God's word refines us teaches us highlights things in us and so

as we don't have that group of people coming along to church

just off their own backs, we're not getting people hearing the

gospel and therefore being able to respond to the boss.

But shrinking nominalism is having an effect in our church.

Shirt. Men's will hell.

One study recently suggest that in studios 18 to 25 year old,

there's been a four hundred and fifty percent increase in mental

health issue. If was struggling 1825,

particularly a struggling and they're the group that have gone

through, maybe their gcses and a-levels in the environment of

covid. They've come out into adulthood,

but in a way that looks very different to how they might have

anticipated children 18 to 25 to been affected in a way.

That means one, in three student, one in three, students,

for mental health, they shrink, and nominalism mental health.

And Lee identity. We live in a time where try

anything be anything, do anything is the message of the

day? And so people have our people

tried that in gender and sexuality and careers and all

sorts of ways, some good, some bad.

And people are starting to notice is clashing going on,

that is not working out in the way that they had envisioned.

This idea of you can be anything.

Do anything is crashing in on itself?

At the opportunity to be anything or do anything.

Is partly to do with shoulds though.

Shoulds and shouldn't. We live in a culture where that

gate far more open than we have been previously used to and we

also live in a time where can and can't a far bigger.

There's far more cans open to people and not talking about a

can of dr. Pepper there.

But far more opportunities for people to do what they want to.

But young adults, therefore are not as clear or Their identity,

by the time, they reach 21, 21 used to be a bit of a benchmark.

Didn't it kind of 30 years ago of getting to that stage of

adulthood and knowing your career knowing your path knowing

your family plans, knowing all those sorts of things.

But now phrases are around. Like, 21 is the new 30 30.

Should I say the new 21? Let me put the right around the

idea that, by the time you reach 30 that's realistically with our

cultural norms stage that maybe some of us might find out when

we reached when One is taking longer develop through into

adulthood. We need to be aware of those

things. Shrieking, nominalism mental,

health, and identity on, look at three cultural Tailwinds and

this is incredible at across the church.

There is an increasing openness to God.

We've just been at a Vineyard leaders Gathering and some of

this language has come from that.

There is a wakening, there's a stirring, there's an awareness,

and a desire to fishing to God in the Young adults and we want

to lean into that. We want to make that as possible

as people to find Jesus as we can we don't want to be a

hindrance or heard or will it be a highway.

And so church is uniquely positioned to offer,

well-trodden, Paths of hell and also experience of God, we can

do that, we can be that we are able to buy it back.

Openness to God at realization that the model experiment hasn't

worked realization that the modern experiment has a work.

As I've said, already the culture of being anything and

everything is clashing on itself, there's polarization and

Division. And the idea of Tolerance has

gone so far that people now are intolerant of the tolerance.

So there's a confusion, there is society.

So something that might in some ways A headwind also has a 0

into it, finally. I first think tumult an

opportunity with so much uncertainty, confusion and loose

ground. The steadfast nature of the

Gospel is something we can offer.

People hand out to people, show to people in our lives.

And in our church family, we have a stability in Christ that

the world is yearning for, and we can hold out to them and we

can hold out to our young adults.

The time to act is now now, so I'm excited.

We're excited to announce as part of our reach 23.

We are wanting to create new spaces for our young adults and

the vision for this. Yeah, the vision for this.

Yeah, but Hallelujah in the house.

Love that Thiago. The vision for this is threefold

is bigger than this, but it's partly this.

And we want to create a space to belong, somewhere.

Young, adults are comfortably. We'll just click create a space

to connect. T', place the squat wrong

relationships that are based in love and wellness, space Rive

and where people can be transformed to live out

everything but has in store. Yeah.

Then I'm doing for time. I think we're good.

Okay, good. Provided amazingly for this

earlier, in the year, our sat down and thinking about how we

make this stuff happen and obviously, for make things to

happen. We need team around us.

May when you Financial provision, we different things

to take place. And so I've been praying at.

See you've been praying and thinking about this for a little

while and we amazingly were gifted a large sum of money at

the time that we were seeking God and pursuing opportunities.

Or young adults. And this lump sum of money has

allowed us to do something, which is really wonderful.

So, it was a bit of a celebration note for something

that's taking place next door. If you don't know already next

door, Adventureland and youth. You knowit is taking place,

which is where both groups are together across the whole of the

other side of the building doing, all sorts of fun and

games connecting relationally, and hearing about Jesus, a guy

who's really influential in that being able to happen in that to

happen. Well, is a wonderful guy who has

moved from an associate youth pastor position.

To a full-time youth, pastor position.

And so I want to give a little whooping clap to a guy called

Puli. Yes.

If you're, if you're watching this back call, we love you.

We appreciate you. Thank you for everything you're

doing currently next door with our young people.

You are amazing. We are so blessed to have you as

part of the team. So it means that with poor

full-time, it gives me a bit of a freed up week and not

entirely, but some freed up time to be able to focus on our young

adults. And so that gift that provision

has been able to make a way for me to be able to focus on our

young adults. Adults alongside myself is my

beautiful wife, Charlotte. He's going to be volunteering.

Helping with young adults and we've already heard her name

already around the building. We're going to hear it in the

months and years to come. I'm sure Yasmin.

I don't know if she's in the building at the moment.

She's been incredible. Ready and she'll be influential.

I'm sure with more things as the young adults miniscule, Rose in

many ways. But we've got to do much and it

takes many more names than the knees, you've just heard.

Yeah, we've already said today, it takes us as a family, doesn't

it? Takes us together to bless to

serve to nurture to grow the church and to grow 1825.

It takes us all. And so the three areas that

we're going to be focusing on looking at with our group of

young adults of these. At there's one group of young

adults who live study a permanently in Saint Albans or

the surrounding towns there, hit all year round and that's one

group of adults. And mother in a church family

already, some of them are not As a second group of adults and

they are the children in our church who grown up as Youth and

progress to adulthood. How do we, as a church family?

Love them. Well, as they go to university

and come back off term, which is Three Months of the Year, by the

way, you get nice breaks in University and then after

University, how do we nurture them?

And how do, welcome them back in because obviously, they returned

on Christmas and Easter and summer and they're too old to go

to the youth space now, but they're not really fully.

Integrated into the wider church family.

So how do we love them? Well, how do we help them as?

So, we were going to be thinking of people like Isaac and others

who are growing up and just about to move to University.

And some already who are at University, how do we blessings?

Will them? And this is an incredible

number, okay, so this is the third thing.

So you'll be aware of the University.

That's not far away from us at all.

At you. My know how many students are in

a university. You might know how many nations

are represented, but here are some numbers.

There are 32 thousand University.

You didn't just across the road from us.

The University of Hertfordshire within that thirty two thousand,

thirteen thousand of them are international students.

Representing 100 nation, the nations are literally on our

doorstep. There's an opportunity to reach

Nations that we might not be able to fly to travel to speak

into because we can serve and bless students when they're

here. Teach them about Jesus and

they're empowered to go back to their countries.

The The massive opportunity there on the University from.

I've already started conversations with fusion and

you CCF. You might be aware of those

organizations, they work with churches and work with students.

And what about University age? So conversations happening

there, which is really exciting. Yeah, there are just a lot of

young adults to reach, Mark, I might be affecting in a budget

with budget request next year, for a young adults, Pastor,

maybe two, we'll see how much we grow, right?

If the Lord blesses it and there's a need there for

reaching people and Jesus's name is being made, famous less lead

into that. I say some of the Practical

things that we do will be running some social events some

stuff after church to my Sunday, we've already had a few dinners

at pubs together and we'll be doing stuff on a Friday evening

as well. Just Gathering socially with one

another, we're going to be starting and growing connect

groups as already one that's bubbled up.

Its me for the second time tomorrow night.

I just throw that word Yasmin out against has been incredible.

She little Powerhouse. And this is a really exciting

one. And the timeline is not fully

defined, but we think that Timber start.

We want to start in September a young adults, evening service.

Yeah. Yeah, we want to bless and serve

all of you as our church family. And but we want to think about

how 18 to 25 is, might get an evening that is focused on them,

to decipher them, to love them, to nurture them, the bless them

and to grow them. And so, those are some of our

initial thoughts on young adults, things that we'll be

running a couple other things, but we can skim past them

because I'm super aware of the time and I'd love to spend I'm

at just waiting on God. At the end of this, you might be

asking, how can I be a part of this?

I guess, three headlines. Praying partnering as in

spending time with these young adults, yourselves, praying,

partnering and finance. Those three things are the

Bedrock, Aunt, May of growing Ministry and discipling growing

people. And so maybe you'll be someone

who wants to pray into this and maybe you want to be on emails

to find out what's happening. So you fraying, maybe you're

someone who thinks, you know what actually I have my

Christian lie. Many years.

Some of you been walking for 20, 30, 40 years at the idea of

drawing alongside someone who's in their twenties, and might be

something that you can really bless in a mentoring context,

just to support them and nurture them apart of this Vineyard

leaders Gathering that we were at a point to me to a resource

by. Someone called Ruth Paran, is

the scholar based up in Borough and said that in some recent

studies that she has been a part of as she found that those who

thrived in their faith through Their 20s will had an older

friend in the church. Yeah.

If your guy maybe you could invite someone out for a beer,

who's 10, 20 years younger than you.

If you're a woman maybe you could meet up with then invite

them out for a beer or whatever. You do to hang out and get to

know one. Another are afternoon, teas

quite appealing and not say guys can't go for afternoon tea as

well then timer one, another connect to one another Joe.

Some of the people who've really blessed me and my life, and I'd

like to think, maybe I've been a blessing to them.

Have been people much older. And there's a family that

Charlotte and I go and visit each year up in the Lake.

District, whose children are teenagers.

But I got to know the family when I was in Liverpool, about

20 years ago and we got to know each other really.

Well, then, as I was a student and we've just journey together

the many years. And so, maybe there's people

that you can look out for. Maybe there's people you could

connect with the pray for relationally at a finance.

The reason why raved step into this boat quickly, it is because

someone was led by the Lord to give And maybe God could have

put that on your heart. Maybe you're someone who

financially and provide as we move forward in this way.

Though, you want to join the Jesus on his mission?

Yeah, this is very cool. Could I write fast you to stand

for these? Is that okay?