You can hardly drive more than a block or two through the West Metro communities of Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Golden and Lakewood without passing by a church. But if you were to park outside any of those churches on a
Sunday morning, what would you see? Or more importantly, WHO would
you see?

You would probably see a lot of elderly couples and little white-haired grandmas, some middle-aged folks and maybe some families with kids and teenagers. But what you probably won't see much of is the most sought-after demographic targeted most by advertisers and also the church - young adults / 20-somethings / Generation Y - whatever you want to call them. Wherever they are on Sunday morning - they are not in church.

This ever-elusive group of people has long been lost to the church, and the church has long been puzzling and head-scratching over how to get them back. Many churches in our community are trying to implement initiatives and programs in order to lure young folks back.

One church in particular is taking this seriously enough to make a major "leap of faith". Arvada Covenant Church on 56th and Ward Road has long been working on a plan to make itself real and relevant to the young people in the community, and at the end of February will be launching a new and radically different worship service designed to actively and meaningfully engage the young adults in our community.

On Sunday, February 24th, Arvada Covenant will be launching a new evening service called "Catalyst." The service is thoughtfully designed to engage young adults and provide them with an intense, passionate, and rock-band driven environment. Communicators at this service will be more raw and even irreverent compared to what many may typically think of as "church." This community will think differently about faith and about our world.

"We don't need another church service in this community for the religious; we need a gathering for those who want to encounter God in an authentic way- even if they're skeptical, hurt, curious or numb. This community will think differently about faith, the world and God," said David Craig, Arvada Covenant's Director of Young Adult Ministries and Contemporary Worship.

The Catalyst service will take place Sunday evenings beginning February 24th at 6:30 PM at Arvada Covenant Church at 5555 Ward Road in Arvada.

www.catalystdenver.com