“Young adults want to be part of something bigger than themselves” said pastor Morgan Hines, from Genesis Campus Ministry at UALR, in response to my first question to him during our first meeting. My inquiry had to do with the future for his ministry. His response was echoing something God had put in our hearts a few months prior.
Mosaic Church is a stone’s throw away from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. With a brand new building right across the street, some of us in the leadership wondered if our location at such proximity could be used to reach more young adults for Jesus in our city.
“Why should I join a church that is so divided and does nothing in the community?” These are words that were uttered by a young adult in a different city and time and continue to ring in my ears till this day. As best as he could, without speaking Christianese, this young man explained why the Church lacked credibility in his eyes– division and negligence.
It rings true of my own preferences. Division turns me off. At any level. Unity enamors me. Not in an ecumenical way, rather in an authentic way, rising above differences. This is the mission of our church:
“a multi-ethnic, economically diverse church established by men and women seeking to know God and to make Him known through the pursuit of unity in accordance with the prayer of Jesus Christ (John 17:20-23) and patterned after the New Testament at Antioch (Acts 11:19-26; 13:1ff.).” – See more at: http://www.mosaicchurch.net/who-we-are
Then I thought… “what if, instead of re-inventing the wheel, we gather all Christian groups on campus under one roof and worship together, pray for one another, and get deployed into the city to bear the Name of JESUS in spirit and in truth?”
I had seen it before! Back in South Florida there are a few church plants in southwest Broward County that decided to merge their youth groups as one, and they called it “The Collective.” The ministry is growing and making a huge impact! And I wanted to see if it could work with college age groups and post-college young adults!
That was in my mind on the day I approached Morgan, and both our thoughts met at an intersection of time and space that was greater than coincidence can explain. This is when I realized I hadn’t come up with this idea on my own. Rather, God was allowing me to discover what He was after… young adults in the city of Little Rock who are willing to seek His face in unity! At this point, The Collective Little Rock was born.
We have gathered to worship at Mosaic Church in collaboration with people from different backgrounds and even denominations. The band is student-led, and those who attend are eager to call out to JESUS together as one! A few of them have begun engaging in the community as we serve the homeless and the financially distraught once a month in partnership with a local gym whose owner’s heart is to serve the community.
The Collective is not just another ministry. Instead, I would like to see it as a network of young adults who worship together and serve the city as ambassadors of Jesus in our zip code: 72204.
What if this network could be activated to serve the city in mass? What if the unity of this group could turn a skeptical heart into a seeking one? What if everyone came out from their camps to seek God, reach people, serve the city, and pray for one another? What if the greater needs of this region were met by a band of young Christ-followers whose affiliations and ministry commitments were not a hindrance to unity but an encouragement to be as one? And, what if revival can arise from the earnest and united prayers of this generation?
“…I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.” (Joel 2:28 NLT)
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