Southern Tidings Southern Tidings
  • STORIES
    • Vantage Point
    • AdventHealth
    • AdventHealth University
    • Carolina Conference
    • Florida Conference
    • Georgia-Cumberland Conference
    • Gulf States Conference
    • Hispanic
    • Kentucky-Tennessee Conference
    • Oakwood University
    • South Atlantic Conference
    • South Central Conference
    • Southeastern Conference
    • Southern Adventist University
    • Southern Union
  • PRINT VERSIONS
    • 2025
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
    • 2009
    • 2008
    • 2007
    • 2006
  • CONTACT
    • Submit Content
  • ADVERTISE
    • Display Ads
    • Classified Ads
Southern Tidings Southern Tidings
  • STORIES
    • Vantage Point
    • AdventHealth
    • AdventHealth University
    • Carolina Conference
    • Florida Conference
    • Georgia-Cumberland Conference
    • Gulf States Conference
    • Hispanic
    • Kentucky-Tennessee Conference
    • Oakwood University
    • South Atlantic Conference
    • South Central Conference
    • Southeastern Conference
    • Southern Adventist University
    • Southern Union
  • PRINT VERSIONS
    • 2025
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
    • 2009
    • 2008
    • 2007
    • 2006
  • CONTACT
    • Submit Content
  • ADVERTISE
    • Display Ads
    • Classified Ads
Mar 01

Young Adults Play Together, Pray Together

BY Olivia Hale

The young adults from the East Ridge, Tenn., Church created a unique niche for themselves, a ministry where members participate in local volunteer opportunities, also refreshing their bodies and mind through regular group adventures together. This small group takes the time to worship together and play together while honoring God.

Submitted by: Olivia Hale

Submitted by: Olivia Hale

Submitted by: Olivia Hale

East Ridge Young Adults (ERYA) take community beyond the walls of the church. Besides worshipping together at Tennessee’s East Ridge Church, and participating in local volunteer opportunities, members rejuvenate minds and bodies through regular group adventures.

How is this assembly of people unique compared to a majority of the world? They keep Christ at the center of their activities. Whether camping or at Christmas socials, leaders make sure members get to participate in worship and music. After a day of hiking and exploring, a typical night around an ERYA campfire comes complete with heartfelt worship and hymns. Attendees have opportunities to get comfortable playing instruments and leading out in worship within smaller environments. With their mission statement, “Every young adult drawn into a community of Christ followers and empowered to use their gifts for His glory,” it’s not surprising that young people feel welcomed to enjoy healthy activities while enhancing their spiritual gifts.

Some of the official ERYA trips include camping, hiking, tubing, and rafting. Participants of the group enjoy the community so much that spontaneous adventures like skiing, ice skating, caving, climbing, and hiking transpire among its members throughout the year. Many of these activities allow new people to plan worship components, while creating a healthy network of spiritual and adventurous friends.

As churches look for ways to keep young adults consistently involved in the community of Christ, this is one model they could consider. Even when everyone is welcomed warmly by churches, there’s something more sustainable about smaller communities within the church that develop the gifts of specific age groups.

The recipe for initiating an adventurous, spiritual, and service-minded group is simple: Where one or two motivated young people with leadership abilities are gathered together, there exists potential. It was not the older members who created ERYA, but its young adult members, seeing a need and an opportunity. Current leaders regularly update a Facebook site and send weekly church and group activity emails, making sure people don’t get left out. The East Ridge Church may look small on the outside, but the young adult community on the inside appears to be thriving alongside its adult members.

Georgia-Cumberland | March 2018

  • Georgia-Cumberland, Georgia-Cumberland News, News
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • E-Mail

Comments are closed.

Recent Articles

  • South Central Conference Launches Innovative STEAM Camp for Students
  • Honoring Legacy: Celebrating Black History at New Jerusalem Church
  • Hispanic Camp Meeting Celebrates Unity, Growth
  • Weekend to Remember: A Lifeline for Pastoral Marriages
  • Southern Partners with GNTC for Adult Learning

The Southern Tidings is the official publication of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • SUBMIT A STORY

Recent Posts

  • South Central Conference Launches Innovative STEAM Camp for Students
  • Honoring Legacy: Celebrating Black History at New Jerusalem Church
  • Hispanic Camp Meeting Celebrates Unity, Growth
  • Weekend to Remember: A Lifeline for Pastoral Marriages

Southern Tidings

P.O. Box 923868
Peachtree Corners, GA 30010-3868
770.408.1800
© SOUTHERN UNION CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS