Hey A218 Partners,

Thanks so much for showing an interest in the college students and young adults of ACCESS218. As I said this past Sunday morning in the CRC worship service, the next generation will not be raised up by accident. They will be raised up by the current generation being intentional about investing personal and financial resources in these 18-twentysomethings. That is why we have the A218 Partnership...it is our effort to connect college students and young adults with real adults (those older than the A218 demographic) with the ultimate goal of seeing the kingdom of God advanced in the next generation. There has never been a greater time for you to partner with us. Below are short articles that will give you a better idea of what A218 has been up to and how you can be a part of it.

New Semester Begins

The Fall semester started off strong last week. The Forward Gathering was the best ever…with attendance of over 20 young professionals, which was not as common last semester. We believe that this is a sign that this gathering is catching on. We project that Sunday Night attendance will continue to grow as word is getting out about this unique gathering for post-college young adults.

At last week's Tuesday Night Gathering, we hosted Justin McRoberts, an independent artist. The room was completely packed with regular attendees and a large number of new students from UNF. Again, we believe that we will be seeing a few more old faces and even more new faces on Tuesday Nights.

The highlight of last week was our Wednesday Community Night at UNF. This was our first gathering for the Fall semester. We kicked it off with a free cookout. We had so many students attend the cookout that we had to create overflow seating outside. At 9pm, we showed a short film called 'Most', a modern retelling of the gospel. Again, so many students stayed for the film that they didn't all fit into the room. Some of our leaders left the room so that they could talk to folks who were outside and without a seat. The greatest part about the night iis that we were there till 11:30pm or so getting to know new college students.

By the end of this week, God brought us almost 25 official new A218 attendees (official meaning that they completed an info card). Now the real work begins. The A218 leaders will now spend the semester getting to know these new college students and young adults, figuring out where they are in their relationship with Christ, and discerning what should be their next step. We will also continue to do this for the 18 – twentysomethings that are already in our care. God has blessed our ministry these few years, and we want to be faithful with all that He has entrusted to us.

All Things in Common

One of the things we are learning within the A218 Community is the idea of sharing the costs of the kingdom. We have been studying the early church in Acts and have discovered that while the first Christ-followers experienced all the benefits of community, they also shared in the responsibility of financially supporting the work of the Church. We are learning that even though we are college students and young adults, there is a role that we have been called to play in the mission of Christ, including the area of finances. These thoughts have inspired a new vision and purpose for our offerings in the A218 Gatherings called All Things in Common. With the offerings from the weekly gatherings, we are supporting causes and projects that we believe are important to the movement of Jesus moving forward, both locally and globally.

We started raising funds in this way in July. At the end of the August, we raised support for two Haiti Children, the translation of Ephesians 2 for a small people group in Indonesia and a donation to the Simple Way, a Christian community in Philadelphia whose complex burned down this past June…all totaling about $1500. We are currently raising funds to continue paying off our Amsterdam Mission Trip and to support our ministry to students at UNF. One of our next projects is a donation to John Whitehead, missionary in Costa Rica for the purchase of a helicopter. Our goal with All Things in Common is that college students and young adults will learn that no matter the size, their financial contribution to the work of the kingdom is important and makes a difference.

reBirth Creative Arts Festival

For the last three years, A218 has sponsored a creative arts event called the reBirth Festival. reBirth is a celebration of creative and artistic expression within the community. We use this event as an outreach to those who have an interest in the arts, but are not necessarily close to God. This year, the reBirth Festival will run for three days, mostly happening at UNF. We are so excited about the possibilities of this year's Festival and the opportunity to reach more students in Jesus' name.

In addition to the Festival competitions, we are bringing in some guests to make this year's Festival the best ever. We are working with the Not for Sale Campaign, a non-profit that travels to raise awareness about human trafficking throughout the world (even the US). They bring in a multi-media presentation, speakers, original music, etc. We believe that this issue will resonate in the hearts of many college students (especially non-Christians). This is our opening event for the Festival. The Festival will also feature Todd Henry, founder and president of the Accidental Creative Company. He provides coaching and resources for professionals who 'create on demand'. He has a great way of helping creative and artistic people get their lives in order and their priorities straight so that they are free to create. Todd is also a Christian and totally excited about the opportunity to come and speak to college students.

On top of all of this, we have other artistic events including a closing worship service on the convergence of art and faith here at CRC on Sunday Night. Our ultimate goal, as always, is to reach students who may not come to church, but would come to an Arts Festival. Please pray for us as we continue to prepare for reBirth, that all of the details would work out, and for the Holy Spirit to draw souls to the weekend.

How You Can Partner With Us

reBirth Festival. Taking the reBirth Festival to UNF is a big step of faith in many ways for us. It takes a high level of investment to create an event that college students would be interested in attending. We are currently seeking personal and business sponsorships for this year's Festival. Would you consider partnering with us financially to make this Festival happen? You can click here for more information about the reBirth Festival. Also, check out the sponsorship page to get the details on financially partnering with us in this effort.

Gatherings. We have three gatherings a week: Tuesday Nights @ CRC, Wednesday Nights @ UNF and Sunday Nights for Post-College Young Professionals @ CRC. We are always in need of 'real' adults to come alongside us with setup, dinner preparation (Tuesdays) and breakdown. While we have teams of college students and young adults who do these things, the more we can get them off of these tasks, the more they can simply come and receive the ministry that has been designed for them. Tuesday Nights has the greatest need for assistance as it is our largest and most involved gathering during the week. Many of our active partners have found that helping make a Gathering happen has opened the door to mentoring relationships with the college students and young adults.

If you would like to inquire further on how you can play an active role in reaching college students and young adults through the ACCESS218 ministry, please contact us by email info@access218.com or by phone 904.493.1218.

Thanks again for your support. We are so excited and thankful for our A218 Partners. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments by using the details in the top left hand corner of this webpage. Please continue to pray for us as we seek to reach college students and young adults in the Jacksonville area. Be well and God bless.

Advancing the Kingdom,
Derrick Scott III and the A218 Team