Local church invites young adults to gather

Young adults gathered to socialize and worship at Living Word Church on Friday, March 21. Young Adults Night has been happening monthly for about seven years. It is organized by the Young Adults Leadership Team at Living Word Church, 2010 Stark Road in Midland. Each Young Adults Night begins at 7:30 p.m. and ends at midnight; food is served and church members perform live music during a worship service.

“It’s become a gathering point for churches,” said Nate Senor, a Young Adults Leadership team member. “Sometimes churches won’t associate with one another. So a group of young adults wrote a proposal. We all had the same thing in our hearts. Our pastor really quickly approved it.”

The goal of Young Adults Night is to bring people together to develop meaningful relationships, according to Senor.

“The community that has developed can be seen in the success,” he said. “People are always asking when the next Young Adults Night is.”

Other events among this community of young people have stemmed from the Young Adults Night Events. Gathering for board games and coffee at Journeys Coffee Shop in Midland brings in over 40 people each week. The Monthly Young Adults’ Nights tend to have around 100 attendees.

“The ultimate goal is just to see people lead better lives,” Senor said. “Once you see people’s lives improve, it’s kind of addictive.”

Senor spoke during the worship portion and said he gets as much out of speaking from hearing others share.

“When I share, I have experienced an incredible amount of peace and hope because of Jesus,” he said. “One thing I want people to know is it is not about our church or our names, it’s about them really just finding hope.”

Senor’s two brothers and sister, Aaron, Andrew and Mandy, regularly attend the event as well. This family says they enjoy being involved in the church together.

“It’s a great time to meet new people of faith and not, because not everyone who goes is a Christian necessarily,” said Aaron Senor, 20, of Midland, a regular attendee and Delta English major. “It’s a good time to dominate everybody in ping pong because I do that.”

Aaron said he looks up to his siblings and their involvement in the church and Young Adults’ Night.

“It’s admirable that they are so involved in anything that they are not paid for; it shows how passionate they are. And they have been involved in it for a long time so that shows how genuine they are,” he said.

Mandy Senor is on the Young Adult Leadership Team and performs with the band during the worship. 12