Frank and I raised three sons and frequently their friends seemed to congregate at our house. That was probably because there was always food around. The rule was that everyone got a hug when they entered the house and the food followed. This made them relax so when they had issues the natural thing was to come over, sit at the kitchen bar, eat a cookie and start talking. We made it a point to always edify their parents whenever possible

As our children reached adulthood and left home, we missed the constant activity and began feeling empty. We became dissatisfied with church but could not find another church that we liked as well.  For approximately a year we discussed going to the Saturday night service and skipping Sunday. Finally, one Saturday in August 2003 we decided we had talked about it long enough.

At our church the Saturday night service is geared to the young adults and I tell you that the power of God was so real. I could only cry as I watched the young adults praise and worship God in song. They had no preconceived ideas of how they were supposed to worship. The worship team was so relaxed, everything just flowed.  The music was loud, very loud, but it ministered to the crowd. It was so refreshing to see approximately 150 young adults in church praising God on a Saturday night and they were there because they wanted to be there.

The message that night was simple, to the point and appropriate for the age group. Afterward, the pastor who oversees young adult ministry talked with us about how the young adults were searching for someone who cared about them who would love them unconditionally.

We decided to stay for the post service meal. As we walked into the eating area, we asked a couple of young girls if we could sit with them. Their comment was "finally, someone wants to sit with us." We believe that God placed them together that night to let us know that we were supposed to be there. You see, one was an aspiring writer and Frank had a degree in journalism and had several published articles.  Another wanted to be a nurse missionary. I was a nurse and did medical missions. We immediately fell in love with them.  That night, we realized that we had found a home. They accepted us.

It was so much fun watching the young people come in with weird hair, body piercings, weird clothes, etc. when they found out that we (the church) were going to love them in spite of themselves. They were going to get a hug whether they were used to it or not. It was amazing how the transformations began. As they felt accepted, the hair color became more normal, the piercings became less obvious. Many of the attention-seeking young adults when we started are now the leadership of today. They will be the pastors, missionaries and teachers of tomorrow. They have actually bought into the church slogan "Every Soul Matters to God" because they have found out they mattered.

I believe the older adults who are involved with this group will all tell you that we receive so much more from the young adults than we give. They give us life, energy and purpose. I believe this is the cycle of life that God has planned. This is our future. We as Christian leaders need to invest in them today because OUR generation told them that drugs, free sex, alternative lifestyle and divorce are all okay. We have taught them to worship creation and not the Creator. We have taught them if there is a problem walk away and let someone else deal with it.  

We have a wonderful generation of young adults that are looking for purpose, acceptance and unconditional love. If we don't stand in the gap for them with prayer, as our grandparents did for us and give them the message that God loves them, Satan will see they are taken down the path of destruction. I am so thankful that God through His grace and love has given us the opportunity to be associated with these young adults. I enjoy being friend, aunt, grandparent, parent, "mommalaine" or whatever. I believe they want an adult relationship not a peer.

By the way, we continue to attend Sunday services as well:-)) God has a sense of humor. He had a plan for us but we had to be willing to take the first step. We are still amazed how once we took the step, even if for the wrong reason, we immediately realized what He had been trying to show us. 

Elaine White and her husband, Frank attend First Assembly of God, North Little Rock, AR.