The Quest for Christian 20-somethings.

I suppose growing up in Coshocton, Ohio has allowed me to develop a lot of patience in building friendships with motivated Christians my own age. I understand that in small towns, there are often very few responsible Christian young people, making fellowship with other Christians often frustrating and difficult...in fact, for most of my time at home, I had one other close Christian friend my own age.

My time at Taylor changed that, in that now, I have about 35 solid Christian friends my own age, but, as it just so happens, zero of them happen to live in Arlington, Washington...meaning it's starting from scratch again and praying for at least "one" Christian friend.

And I do have several Christian friends my own age in Washington--in fact, I'm lucky enough to share an apartment with one of them! However--it still falls short of being a "community" of friends, especially when my roommate happens to be the only one actually living within 30 miles of me.

Within the past few weeks--this prayer of mine--for Christian fellowship with other 20-somethings is gradually being answered:

(1) My young women's small group Bible study--It's mostly girls from my new home church. Last night was my second time visiting with this group of people, and we have had at least seven 20-something women currently attending. Last night, we had a great time of fellowship and study. After our first meeting last month, I was apprehensive about my ability to genuinely connect with these young women, but after meeting again last night, I am excited to be growing in relationship with them! We only meet once every 2-3 weeks, but the time of sharing and fellowship is definitely encouraging and sustaining--and it is definitely a group of women that I am comfortable with and excited to know better.

(2) This weekend, I will be attending a Seminar for Youth Ministers in Rural Areas, and I will be accompanied by another youth worker in town who happens to be a single 20-something Christian woman. We haven't yet met in person, but our phone conversation yesterday was enough to encourage me that she will also be a source for fellowship in Arlington! She is excited to get to know me too, and she's already involved in full-time children's ministry in Arlington and definitely looking for more 20-something Christian friends in town...

So, all of this to say that my best friends are still scattered across areas that are not called "Arlington, Washington" but the potential for that dynamic to shift is on the horizon. I am being patient, realizing that forming solid post-college relationships takes a lot of time and intentionality--and at the same time, I'm praising God for these small glimmers of potential friendships here.