In February, 1998, the Executive Board of the Church of God (7th Day) recognized a new
General Conference Ministry for Young Adults.  This ministry joins the Faithful Youth
Challengers (FYC) for teens, Women's Ministries, Missions Abroad, Publications,
Spring Vale Academy and Summit School of
Theology  each of which serves a very important part of our church. Becky (Carr)
Riggs of Fort Worth, Texas was appointed as
national director of SWORD. 

Particularly in recent years, the FYC has done an excellent job of preparing our teens to choose to accept Jesus as their personal savior.  The purpose of SWORD is to build on that foundation to foster spiritual growth in young adults and to develop leadership skills, fellowship activities, and opportunities for them to serve the community, their local congregations, and the church as a whole. 

SWORD is an acronym for 'Sharing the Word and Offering a Real Difference'.  When we accept Christ, it is not the end, but the beginning of our walk with him.  We are called to work in the fields, not relax in the house of our Father's riches. We young adults face many challenges and uncertainties both in the secular world and in finding our place to serve God. 

We pray that SWORD will be able to help young adults grow stronger in faith and knowledge, becoming more committed Christians rather than drifting away with the distractions that accompany the transition to adult life. This ministry is still growing and taking shape, but the enthusiasm we have received from all over North America is a tremendous blessing, and the recognition of the General Conference will give us more opportunities to reach our young adults. 

SWORD periodically publishes a newsletter, has held a national young adult conference, and a series of workshops specifically for young adults at the 1997 General Conference in Knoxville. SWORD organized a number of community ministry projects including prison ministry and Habitat for Humanity service in Tulsa, OK as part of the 1999 General Conference Convention.  These activities provided on-the-job training as well as an opportunity to serve. Several congregations around the country are developing active young adult groups. 

Thanks for coming by and we hope you find something of interest that may be a blessing to you. 

To find out more, e-mail us.