BUILDUP-PROFESSIONALS MINISTRY
“Brothers & Sisters, United in Love Daily”
The Buildup Professionals ministry is an evolution of what was formerly known as the Young Professionals/Singles ministry here at Crossway. We know that in the church there are many ministries that fit with a clear and easily understood label. Children’s church, Youth Ministry, College Group, Married with children, and Tried and True fit the demographics that most of us can identify with at some point in our life. When we think about a traditional “Young Professionals Ministry” what does that mean?
Many people would likely imagine a group of people in their early 20s and early 30s, who are between graduating from college but not yet married and settled in a career. But what about those during their early 20s who work in jobs that do not require a college degree? What about a person who went back to college at the age of 40? What about single people who are of an age where their peers fit into one of the other groups mentioned above, such as those Married with Children? In each of these situations, it can easily be understood if such a person doesn’t feel as if they fit in with any of the traditional church ministry groups. I’m sure almost every one of us can identify with being in a situation where we don’t “fit in” with the normal groups most people expect others to fit into neatly.
Because of this, we reimagined our Young Professionals/Singles ministry as a group where any person who feels they do not neatly fit into any other ministries can find a connection and be loved.
Your age and educational level do not matter, nor does the nature of the work you have chosen to make a career of. It doesn’t matter if you are single, dating, newly married but still without children, or even married with children. If you don’t feel like you belong in any of the other above-mentioned ministries, we want you to feel like you can belong here.
Our ministry is focused on once-a-month large social events where we can share life, have fun, and grow closer together in the community. Why once a month? We do it once a month because most people with professional careers have varied work schedules depending on their career types. Rather than focus on filling a calendar with scheduled events that make it difficult for people with conflicting schedules, we wanted to focus on finding one time a month when we can all meet. Once we have that as a foundation, everyone is then free to build relationships and connections with other people in the group whose schedules coincide with theirs at the pace they wish. At the same time, we stay in touch daily via messaging and phone calls to remind each other we care, seek opportunities to serve each other, and call each other higher as Disciples. In this way, growing community and connection can hopefully be accomplished in a way that is as compatible with each person’s life and schedule as possible.
If you are interested in learning more, feel free to reach out!