If you are a college/university/young adult or know of one in Calvin, know that every other Sunday we gather for a meal together. We began our meetings on September 3rd and will meet in the basement room beside the kitchen for soup and buns and fellowship as college/university students and young adults.
If you know of any young adults who are in college or university in Ottawa, and would like to meet with fellow young adult Christians, point them to Pastor Ron, and we will get them connected.
The contact for College/University/Young Adult Ministries is Pastor Ron Hosmar, who can be reached at youthpastor@calvincrc.ca.
Ministry Highlights
1. Can you describe this ministry to us please? What is its purpose?
Calvin’s Young Adult Ministry is a ministry to any Young Adult aged 18 – 30 ish. Its purpose is to provide a connection point for existing or new young adults to meet and fellowship and grow together and also to grow in faith.
2. How often does it meet, and where?
This group meets for a meal after our morning services every 3 weeks now. We meet in the basement. Our group size varies each time, but those who come appreciate the meals prepared for them.
We also hold a Thursday evening Bible Study night (7 – 8:30 p.m.) via zoom so other churches can be involved as well. Again, attendance varies, but we have good discussion times.
3. What do you do on/during a typical meeting time?
For our Sunday meals, that’s usually about it. : )
We gather, introduce ourselves if there are new people present (and often there are), and then eat a meal. During the meal the conversations goes all over the place : ). It’s great getting to know the issues that are on their minds.
For our Thursday evening Bible Studies, we usually start with a game found by Pastor Joe, and then we discuss something (usually a video series from Right Now Media). We then end in prayer.
We also try to offer a social gathering for our Classis-wide churches every couple of months. We have gone miniature golfing, held an annual retreat (see Pastor Ron’s Blog for that), done escape rooms, and more. All in an effort to just have fun and build relationships.
4. How do you think this ministry fits into the vision of Calvin “to become more passionate followers of Jesus Christ, used by God to transform lives through confident outreach, wholehearted worship, enfolding fellowship and lifelong discipleship?”
We hope that our gathering times foster relationships in our church(es) and those relationships allow us to challenge each other in our faith walk, and build a connection with our faith community that will draw young adults in so they feel they belong and will learn and grow in faith and life.
5. Do you have a story about how this ministry has impacted those who are participating in it?
I think for those who are new to Calvin, the meals are a great non-threatening connection point to get to meet and know new people. I’ve heard many say they really appreciate the openness and hospitality of those meal times.
6. How can we assist this ministry and pray for it?
Well, when asked if you’d be able to prepare a meal for this group, it would be awesome if you were able to do that. : ) A HUGE thank you to those who have done this very thing over the past many years we have held our lunches. You can also pray for our young adults. Feeling connected to a faith community has changed over COVID and that sense of belonging looks different yet is even more important now than it’s ever been. Pray that the meals we host will allow people to feel welcomed and in that feel a sense of wanting to try to belong to this faith community.