Covenant News

SE Conference Retreat Focuses On Leadership

NORMAN PARK, GA (August 20, 2004) - The Southeast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church recently hosted its second annual Young Adult Retreat from August 6-8 under the theme "Young, Gifted and Chosen II." A total of 20 participants – including 14 students from Faith Covenant Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Commissioned Disciples Covenant Church near Atlanta – gathered at an Atlanta area retreat center.

Attendees were challenged by speakers Debbie Blue, Brian Alnes and Tosin Bamgbose to strive to be leaders in their church communities, with the trio providing helps for participants to better equip them for leadership roles.

"Words cannot express how wonderfully God moved this weekend," said church planting pastor Catherine Gilliard from Commissioned Disciples Covenant, who led a session on relationship building on multiple levels and did much of the behind-the-scenes work coordinating the event. "There was such a powerful anointing over our time together. It was diverse and united in seeking God's face and flowing with the leading of the Holy Spirit. We all cried, laughed and shouted together through a weekend of powerful fellowship and relationship building. Each gave of themselves and came well prepared to address these issues and the young adults really responded to the messages and challenges."

"Commitments were made, vows were taken and lives were changed," Gilliard continued. "These young adults will head back to their college campuses, jobs or ministries 'on fire' about their witness for Christ wherever God has placed them."

"Initially, I went because I wanted to know other young adults willing to follow God and to know that others are struggling with the same issues I am," said participant Gina Rivera of Faith Covenant. "This year, I wanted to continue the relationships and the topics were interesting - we talked about relationships and how to apply our spiritual gifts to our church. And the people who are there are very supportive because they're struggling with the same things you're struggling with. I know that these retreats have had a huge effect on my life already.

"In the kind of strange stage of life we're in – trying to figure out what we want to be in life – there are a lot of huge decisions to make," Rivera continued. "And there's not a whole lot of programming in the church for this age group. But I still think there's a huge need for it. As soon as you step out of your (high school) youth group you ask, 'Where do I fit now?'"

"I've been to both retreats," said Dominique Gilliard, Catherine's son and a student at Georgia State University in Atlanta. "We hit real issues that were going on in our lives. I think at a lot of retreats they (main speakers) sugar-coat the issues, but we were open and honest and didn't hold back anything. And the people who were there actually wanted to be there. That's what made it a good retreat for me."

Throughout the history of the Covenant, there have been ministry opportunities and gatherings geared to young adults. Covenant Youth of America (known as CYA) was a thriving ministry in the mid-1900s. Later, post-high school students participated in ministries sponsored by the denomination such as Covenant Caravan and Covenant Heartsong in the 1970s and 80s. They served as short-term mission experiences and training grounds for dozens of future Covenant pastors and leaders.

Recently, an effort has been made in some conferences to address the unique needs of young adults - a Canada Conference event in Manitoba occurred last fall, for example - as churches attempt to minister to this age group.

Blue, director of adult ministries for the Department of Christian Formation, said that she has a personal interest in young adults. She believes that reaching those in their 20s is critical as the church evolves, stating, "You begin to question your faith at this age and if they (young adults) haven't found the answers, they become (spiritual) wanderers." She spoke about spiritual gifts pertaining to the Body of Christ and shared in an open forum discussing what it means to be a Christian young adult in a secular society.

Alnes, youth pastor at Faith Covenant, has developed a passion for young adult ministries too. He said that in his 15 years at his current church he has seen how the young adult subset can get lost in the cracks as it pertains to a congregation's vision for ministry. Currently, there are more than 20 young adults meeting together at Faith Covenant and he got involved in coordinating a conference because he felt that this young adult age group needed a forum to share their struggles. He said the retreat gave his group exactly what it needed in that regard.

"Most of those who came this year had come last year and the responses have been phenomenal," he said. "There is a lot of prayer that has gone into these two events and there's a strong desire to make it grow. Because it was a small group, the intimacy that happened was second to nothing I've been a part of. And in their age group, there isn't often a forum to share from their hearts. We want to see young adults engaged and active in the church. And we'd love to see this retreat model go throughout other conferences."

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