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SUNDAYS

We WIN when young adults… CONNECT WITH GOD

CONNECT TO A GROUP

The second win of this program is to provide an opportunity for young adults to CONNECT TO A GROUP. Young adults have a longing to belong. They have a huge desire be apart of an authentic community who share the similar stage and struggles of life that they are experiencing. That is why our job as leaders is to point them to a life group each and every Sunday! We believe this is the best pathway for them to experience the outlandish love of Jesus through God’s people.

Overlake Young Adults is a large-group program that happens every Sunday night @ 7:00pm for those

between the ages 18 to 25.

The primary goal of this program is to provide an opportunity for young adults to CONNECT WITH GOD. God isn’t boring…

so why does church have to be? We purposefully keep it light by using humor

and creativity to disarm the defenses often brought in by young adults.

We really try not to take ourselves too seriously, but on the other hand… we do

take God seriously! The worship is intimate, and the teaching is relevant. Regularly young adults are given the chance to respond to the

gospel; a chance to exchange their brokenness for hope; a chance to connect with a God that loves them.

W I N S

D E S C R I P T I O N

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We work hard to make sure our messages will not only hit our target audience, but penetrate their hearts at the same time. So a lot of prayer and preparation goes

into each and every talk. I promise you… it’s not as easy as it looks.

We teach through the framework of SERIES… creative titles organized by topics. But what makes this ministry special is the way we go about teaching those series. We

execute our messages through EXPOSITORY teaching. That is choosing a chunk or passage of scripture and then walking through it verse by verse. This gives us not only

the desired depth of teaching, but the freedom to be creative within it as well.

Some of the TOPICS that we will hit on a regular basis are the same themes our young adults struggle with on a daily basis:

direction, identity, relationships, brokenness, and finances.

RELATIONAL GOLDMINE Every Sunday night following the service we’re gonna hit the town. The locations will vary, but the goal is the same… to connect and deepen our relationships with these young adults. This is a HUGE OPPORTUNITY! I know it’s late on a work night, but these after hours are a relational goldmine! We don’t expect that a leader would make it out every Sunday, but we do ask that every Sunday leader make at least half of them. The location will be announced at the end of every service.

S E R V I C E S T R U C T U R E

NOTHING TYPICAL

So what does a Sunday night actually look like? Well in order to keep things interesting and engaging, we actually try and mix it up from week to week. There are, however, ELEMENTS you can count on to always be a part of each service. (Welcome, Worship, Message) But just to give you some idea of what to expect we’ve put together an example of what a Sunday night could look like. Again, this is just an example; all services will be different.

• Welcome Video • Countdown • Worship • Hang out for 5 • Video • Message • More Worship • Announcements / Blessing • Relational Time • After Hours

M E S S A G E S

A F T E R H O U R S

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DRINKING Since our demographic consists of BOTH underage and legal drinkers… we will not be hitting any bars for our after hours outings. With this age bracket also comes potential problems. Because half of our young adults can’t drink, we’re asking that you would not drink either at Overlake sponsored events. As leaders we want to set the bar at a HIGHER STANDARD. We don’t want to give any reason for our younger brothers and sisters to stumble. On the OTHER HAND, if one of our young adults, who is of the legal age, orders a beer… please don’t walk over and smack it out of their hand! We don’t want to ostracize someone just because they like the taste of a good cold one. We want this ministry to be a place where everyone feels freedom to be themselves.

Godliness is obviously the most important part of being a leader. However, here are some tips we’ve learned over the years that may help you on a Sunday.

• MEET SOMEONE NEW EVERY WEEK: Make this your personal goal!

Meeting someone new every Sunday will force you to spread beyond the young adults you are comfortable with and reach out to the people on the fringe.

• LAUGH & HAVE FUN: We’re trying to create an environment where young

adults feel comfortable and want to be. They like to have fun, and when they see you doing it, they’re more likely to let their guard down. So crack a joke and laugh at ours even if they aren’t funny.

• INTRODUCE NEWBIES AROUND: A great way to remember names and

make connections is to introduce new people around. By repeating their name you memorize it, and by making a big deal about them they feel important.

• LOOK FOR NEXT STEPS: Always be looking for the next steps in a young adults spiritual walk. If you someone doesn’t know Jesus… share your testimony with them. If a person is struggling with an addiction… suggest accountability. As a leader, always be looking for ways to help our young adults grow or mature.

• BE YOURSELF: Young adults can see right through someone who’s trying to

be someone they’re not. You don’t need to be loud, young, or cool to connect. You just need to be authentic.

• POINT TO LIFE GROUPS: One of our two wins on Sunday nights is to lead

people into a life group. There are a ton of young adult life groups. Sometimes all it takes for a person to take a step, is a simple invitation. So invite them to join a group. Even better yet, if you invite them to the one that you’re attending!

T I P S F O R S U N D A Y

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SUNDAY LEADER

BE ON TIME: I’ll be honest; this is a big pet peeve of mine. Even though young adults are rarely on time, we should be there ready and waiting for them. I understand that life happens, but please make every effort to be on time. It’s important. WEEKLY PRE-SERVICE MEETING: As a part of your commitment, there are weekly pre-service meetings lasting no longer than 20 minutes every Sunday @ 6:30pm. These gatherings will provide you with pertinent information for the evening. It also gets us together as team to pray for the ministry that is before us.

15-MINUTE RULE: Fifteen minutes immediately before and following the service, we ask that you not talk with other leaders. This is so you can focus on connecting with the young adults. We have such a limited time with them already; we don’t want to squander the time we have.

WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE: It’s important to overcome fear and continually approach and engage with all kinds of young adults in our ministry.

MODEL PARTICIPATION: Throughout the service sing, discuss, take notes, laugh, and discuss at the appropriate times. Be the example to follow.

LIVING ABOVE REPROACH: Ministry without integrity is no ministry at all. In

fact, it’s destructive to the Kingdom. We are to live a life that leaves no room for speculation inside and outside the walls of the church.

AFTER HOURS: We ask that you attend at least half of the after hours outings.

While there we also ask that you would not drink alcohol. ____________________________________________________________________________

TIME REQUIRED Pre-service Meeting 30 minutes a week Sunday Night Service 1.5 hours a week After Hours twice a month 3 hours a month Bi-yearly Training 8 hours a year

TOTAL INVESTMENT: roughly 3 hours per WEEK

S U N D A Y E X P E C T A T I O N S

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LEADERSHIP

For most people, investing into young adults can be a bit intimidating. But trust me, it’s not as hard as you might think! We’ve heard the same old misconceptions time and time again. Misconceptions that unfortunately prevent most people from getting started in ministry and making a real difference in the life of an individual. MISCONCEPTIONS…

I must be young and hip I must have adequate Bible training I must be a perfect example of a Christian I must feel secure I must be able to act like one of the students I must have plenty of free time I must know everything about the latest youth culture I must be wild, crazy, and dynamic I must be liked by all students

Let’s be honest, this isn’t the most comfortable ministry in the church. So it's completely normal for you to feel a wee-bit inadequate about your skills and ability to relate. But know this: your confidence will grow the more you're around young adults and you’ll see how God can use inadequate people (like you and me) to do great things. Here's the truth about what students need: ADULTS WHO WILL...

Remember their name Go to their world Pray for them Laugh with them and at themselves Take initiative to spend a little time with them Believe in them Love Jesus authentically in front of them

We do this thing as a team. The differences in each of us are what make our leadership teamwork! We can’t be all things to young adults... young, old, crazy, wise, funny, sociable, quiet, etc. We just need to be the person God made us to be and someone else will fill in the gaps of what we aren’t! In the famous words of Rocky Balboa from Rocky II, “I got gaps… Adrienne got gaps… together we ain’t got no gaps!”

M I S C O N C E P T I O N S

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Young Adults Ministries has big goals, the bar is high, and we need people who are willing to step up to the plate so big things can happen. We encourage people that if they even have the slightest interest to go ahead and apply. Some of the best leaders on the team were actually unsure if they should step into leadership. But they did… and that made all the difference. Below is the process of moving from the sideline on to the field.

(STEP 1) READ

Read this entire guide.

(STEP 2) APPLY Complete and return the Application/Commitment Form on the last page of this notebook, or fill out the online application at occ.org/ya.

(STEP 3) OBSERVE Attend the program you are interested in serving at.

(STEP 4) INTERVIEW

Have an interview with an Overlake pastor.

(STEP 5) TRAIN Shadow a veteran leader for the first month.

Alrighty… that was a whole lot of info! But trust us, studying this will make you a better relational leader and a better minister in God’s Kingdom. Again, thanks for taking this step of faith to serve young adults. We know that God will stretch you and use you in big ways this year. We are on the front lines of the battle my friends, let’s go to war!

Together, Following Jesus,

Leading Young Adults,

Jake & the Team

B E C O M I N G A L E A D E R

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Name: Date:

Address:

Phone: (Cell) (Home)

Email: Date of Birth:

Occupation:

Employer:

Work Status: Part Time Full Time Student

Marital Status: Single Married Divorced

High School: Year Graduated:

College: Year Graduated:

Degree: Minor:

Other Education: Year Graduated:

Please write a brief testimony about how you became a Christian.

Why do you want to work with young adults here at Overlake?

THANK YOU for taking the time to share about yourself. We want you to know that all this information will be held confidential and shared only with the appropriate pastoral staff.

A P P L I C A T I O N F O R M

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You are asked to enter into a commitment with the YOUNG ADULTS leadership team to make this ministry a priority. By signing below you are stating you have read this entire guide and are committing to the following:

I WILL...

I will embody the values of a dynamic member of Overlake: • Continued growth in my relationship with Jesus. • Striving to live a godly life. • Faithful attendance of Sunday services. • Faithful giving and stewarding of my resources.

I will faithfully serve for one full year.

I will uphold all the expectations under the role I’ll be serving in.

I will attend both of the leadership trainings.

I will make every attempt to let the leadership know if I am not able to make it to a meeting or service that I have committed to.

I will read and respond to all the team emails.

I will not drink alcohol at Overlake sponsored events.

I AM COMMITTING TO...

Sunday Night Leader

Life Group Leader

Care Team Leader

Media Team Leader

Set Up Team Leader

Welcome Team Leader

Worship Team Leader

Name Date

Signature

C O M M I T M E N T F O R M