Young Adult Ministries: Discipleship During Life’s DIY Season

The years between high school and adulthood are filled with once-in-a-lifetime, momentous choices for young adults. Choosing where they will live, what career they want to pursue, who they will marry, and what kind of lifestyle they want to build for themselves are all decisions that require godly wisdom, according to Josh Wellborn, national director of Young Adult Ministries for the Assemblies of God.

“Young adulthood is a stage, not an age, that really begins in high school,” he says. “It’s the first time in life that this age group is making decisions for themselves – decisions that will shape the rest of their lives.”

Wellborn says that young adulthood really is a DIY (do-it-yourself) season of life. “You’re building your life from scratch – crafting your career, your relationships, and your identity. It’s a hands-on season that is spiritually pivotal,” he says.

This season of major life choices is one reason Wellborn believes young adulthood exists within a critical discipleship window. That is why he is excited to be leading the fellowship’s Young Adult Ministries department, a role he has served in for almost one year.

For Wellborn and his team, the number one question they want to help young adults answer is, “How do I hear from God?” Through resource development and collaboration with other Assemblies of God ministry departments, Young Adult Ministries is producing new resources for individuals and churches to use as they intentionally support these young men and women in learning to hear the voice of God.

One such resource that was released at the 2025 General Council is Wellborn’s newest book, 30 Under 30: Young Adults in Scripture Who Heard from God. The book profiles 30 individuals in the Bible who heard from God at a young age. Each chapter explores their story and unpacks how they learned to discern God’s voice. Discussion questions and prompts are at the end of each section, making it a turn-key tool for small groups or even one-on-one discipleship.

“The book was designed to spark reflection and conversations about how each of these biblical figures heard from God, and how that helps young adults hear from God today,” says Wellborn.

Randy Jumper, consultant for Young Adult Ministries, says, “Josh’s book guides young adults to hear from God and then do what it says. It’s making a difference in the lives of our young adults who want to hear God’s voice but are unsure how to discern it or what to do about it.” This is creating a need for specific resources targeting this stage of life, he continues.

A husband, father, and longtime next-gen leader, Wellborn also has a personal investment in development of young adult resources. “As a parent, I’m sure I’ll have opinions about what my kids do in life,” he says. “But more than anything, I want them to hear from God. If they can do that, I can be confident they’ll end up where they need to be.”

The Assemblies of God also recognizes the critical need for resources dedicated to reaching this particular group. Observing that young adulthood encompasses a wide age range, the department has been strategically positioned within both the NextGen Ministries and Adult Ministries. This dual placement allows partnership in the development of resources across several Ministries & Resources departments, better serving those who fall into this new ministry focus and ensuring that no age group is overlooked.

“Having a national Young Adult Ministries department is more than an organizational strategy – it’s a statement of value,” says Doug Clay, general superintendent for the Assemblies of God. “During these years of transition from childhood to adulthood, faith either becomes personal or it fades away. We want to be intentional in helping this generation know that we see them, we believe in them, and they are worth investing in. We want to walk beside them and resource them as they catch the vision God has for their life and take their place as the leaders of today.”

Clay also says that the shift from being led to leading requires intentional discipleship found within the community of a healthy, local church.

“Churches spend millions of dollars on children and youth ministries for good reasons. Then, at a pivotal moment in their development, we abandon them,” says Jumper. “Young adults need targeted ministry to them in their migration into adulthood…They are increasingly interested in spirituality and church. They are open to the gospel. But they have specific needs in this season.”

As resources are deployed, it is Wellborn’s desire that the skills of hearing, discerning, and obeying God’s voice amidst a culture of noise and distraction are sharpened and that the intentional discipling of this generation will propel them into disciple-makers of future generations.