Welcome to Fall at Bethesda! The Children’s Education and Youth Ministries Board (CEYM) has been hard at work this Fall with exciting initiatives for Children and Young Adult programming. Under the leadership of Kristina Greenfield, the Board has been seeking new initiatives, ministry teams, and volunteers to engage our youth, families, and young adults.

We have launched a new Young Adult Ministry team called The River. We are excited about connecting with young adults to facilitate a ministry that speaks to that perplexing time of life post-high school, when you are in your 20s and seeking a path for your life. Our team wants to explore that time of life with all its changes, challenges, and exciting events. There may be decisions that take Bethesda’s Young Adult members away from Ames to another area, state, or even a far-off land. Or they may be going to college, trade school, apprenticeships, working, or just right here in our midst but are not actively engaged at Bethesda. We do not want to abandon them when connections and feeling that support from their church is so pivotal. Young adults need to feel the love of God and a sense of belonging in their church home now more than ever.

We also aim to reach out to young adults at our local colleges and nearby towns, marketing our ELCA status, inclusion and acceptance of all, music programs, work in the community, and prayerful and powerful services. We see God’s work in the lives of young adults as crucial as they face struggles and successes and navigate transforming life events.

Bethesda's Young Adult Ministries team attended the 2024/25 ISU Welcome Fest on August 28th on the ISU campus. We talked with college students and reached out to those looking for a church home, inviting them to visit Bethesda and see what we offer. We met with over a hundred students to share the excitement of God's promise for us all. We will continue to invite new young adults and our current young adult members to events this year.

Please pray for our new ministry and reach out to Young Adults you see at our church who may be new or returning. Please pray for our current Young Adults in college, working, or living their lives, offering them a place to belong and the knowledge that Bethesda is here for them and praying for their happiness and success.