YG Church Shares Care and Love with Collegians
With college and university students spread across the nation and throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church makes an effort each school year to let its young adults know they are cared for by sending care packages to them on campus. Collaborating with Burton Adventist Academy elementary students, the church fills the boxes with colorful letters of encouragement, sweet treats, popcorn, snacks, and inspirational items intended to remind students that their church is thinking of and praying for them.
Coordinated by Younger Generation Church (YG Church), the vibrant young adult ministry of the Arlington congregation, the boxes were assembled by church board members, YG Church elders, academy students, and Elders in Training. The packages were prepared with the goal of arriving around exam time, when such encouragement can be especially meaningful.
“Receiving one of the care packages from YG Church was such a meaningful surprise,” says Isa DeMoraes, an Andrews University student studying social work. “It reminded me that my church continues to support and care about me even while I’m away in another state.”
Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) pastoral interns Maxwell Gucake and Ruben Najera shipped packages across the country. They also helped distribute dozens of care packages on campus, bringing joy to SWAU students.
“It is always inspiring to see a local church take care of our students,” said Kent Rufo, SWAU chaplain. “Care becomes really tangible when our students open a package filled with love in the form of food and letters.”
Although local church attendance is often viewed as a measure of success among young adults, the 20-something years are frequently filled with transitions and new challenges. New jobs, trade school, college, and university life add new dimensions of independence as young adults begin establishing their place in the world. The student care packages serve as a simple reminder that their local church supports them as they enter this important phase of life.
“Receiving the care packages was so nice because it feels like my church cares for students at every campus,” says Adrian Tufino, a senior at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) who also served this year as president of the Adventist Christian Fellowship chapter at UTA. “Our church reaching out to support students on our campus at UTA means the world to me.”
Although there is no way to anticipate exactly when the care packages will arrive, given the various academic calendars, exam schedules, and the speed of the United States Postal Service, members of the Arlington church pray that the encouragement arrives just in time.
“Seeing the Arlington church return address on the box instantly brought a big smile to my face,” said DeMoraes. “I’m truly grateful for the thoughtfulness and kindness from my church community.”
By Allen Martin, pastor
