New Life Young Adults
Young people passionate about God“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”. – Ecclesiastes 12:1
The period of youth can be one of the most exciting times in a person’s life. This is when one is beginning to realize one’s identity, make important decisions for life and career, and lay the foundation for the long road ahead in life’s journey.
This is also one of the most challenging periods in a person’s life, especially in these times when one is faced by a myriad of choices and pressures that could shape one’s personality.
At New Life Fellowship (NLF) City Church Bangalore, we recognize the importance of this phase. Our Youth Ministry was launched in 2013 with the vision of building our youth into people who are “passionate about God, people, and bringing them into His Kingdom”. The Ministry is focused on people who are 21 years old and above, until they get married, after which they are shepherded into other adult ministries of the main church.
Teaching values
The focus of the Youth Ministry is in teaching our young people important values based on the Kingdom of God, to not only prepare them for this Kingdom but also shape their approach to evangelization. During our meetings held every Saturday, we attempt to teach our youth various topics of practical relevance to them in the world today based on Scriptural values from the Bible. These range from how to build God-fearing character, their identity in Christ, and how to properly study, understand, and practice the Scripture in their lives, to topics like finance, career, marriage, and more. One of our latest efforts is seeking to identify the various natural and spiritual giftings of our young people, so that these could be used best in the work of building God’s Kingdom. The Ministry is of, by, and for the youth, guided by our adult mentors.
Mentorship
One of the important building blocks of our Youth Ministry is our mentorship program. Here, we have sought to build an informal network of adult mentors, usually married couples functioning together, who seek to mentor, guide, and personally counsel young people in a ratio of one couple to five youth. The mentors seek to keep in touch with the young people through the month, actively reaching out to them or keeping themselves available to answer any doubts or queries that the youth may have. These adult mentors are carefully chosen and fully equipped on the principles of God’s Word backed by prayer of the Church’s leadership to guide our young people accurately on all of the questions they may have, from the simpler to the highly complex. The Youth Ministry leadership on their part keep in active touch with these mentors, praying with them, supporting them, and encouraging them to increasingly depend on God above all for their guidance.
Special programs and retreats
It’s not all serious, heavy topical discussions that we encourage as part of the Youth Ministry. We also recognize the importance of taking our youth out on retreats, allowing them to unwind in an informal setting, bond with one another, and study the Word of God together as well. Apart from retreats, we organize regular events such as breakfast prayers or all-night worship and prayer to encourage our young people to develop a habit of praying together, depending on God, and developing an intimacy with their Creator.
As the verse quoted above from Ecclesiastes says, we encourage our young people to truly know… intimately… their Creator at an early age, so that He becomes their truest Mentor, Guide, and closest Friend.
In addition to the retreats and prayer programs, we also organize special workshops led by trusted theologians who seek to address some of the more difficult topics that young people often have trouble grappling with.
As Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:12: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” This is what we teach our youth – to become pillars of witness to the world around them, of how to live as the salt and light in a world that truly hungers and thirsts for this.
The Ministry is led by Anand and Reena Mathew. Please reach out to them at: +91 94489 75111 if you have any questions.