Awaken 2024 Initiatives
AWAKEN BUDGET PROPOSAL (Western Edge Hub)
Almost two years ago, the idea for what is now called “Awaken” was brewing in my (Cory’s) mind. My heart has increasingly grown for the 20-somethings in our city, which is a generation as unchurched as any in our country’s history.
The reality is that most of our (KC Underground) initiatives are geared towards mobilizing people to reach their already existing networks. However, young adults, particularly recent college grads, often do not have networks. So we felt like we needed something that would satisfy the deep desire of young adult believers to experience community, while also not allowing community to kill any missional momentum. Over time it became clear that we needed a more strategic way of building a base of young adult missionaries that would be more programmatic and intentional than other training environments in the Underground.
So I began to earnestly pray for key young adult leaders to own this ministry. Miraculously, the Lord quickly revealed Cayden Sommer and Sam Leichty as core leaders, as well as 5-7 others who helped build some of the early vision. We also began to pray for a group of older mentors, and God brought that as well.
The team developed a plan to mobilize young adults by creating a 6-month training community (Awaken) which will intentionally train young adults to reach other young adults. This community will be highly intentional and communal, and will have an end date to encourage specific teams to actually launch out at its conclusion.
Alongside this will be an intentional strategy that will include social media and social apps that will lead to developing community among unchurched young adults. Over time, the trained young adult missionaries will have very natural mission fields emerge from this strategy.
Our Western Edge Hub is asking for $10,000 to fund the Awaken Community Strategy for the upcoming year.
Our request falls under 3 primary sections:
$3,000 for food costs during the gatherings (All Awaken gatherings will include a full meal)
$2,000 for marketing and digital content. Many of the evangelistic strategies connected with this team will be done in digital spaces.
$5,000 for the social media to meet-up strategy, in which our hub would sponsor community events for the unchurched pockets of young adults in the city.
We are excited for the potential of significant multiplicative growth that could come with this strategy. It falls mostly under “GOOD NEWS” of the “beauty, justice, & good news” paradigm. Not only will this strategy potentially launch young adult believers into the city (while providing a solid community base), but it will strategically utilize social media in creative ways that will engage the increasingly large community of unchurched young adults in Kansas City, and provide real ways to hear, experience, and know the Good News of Jesus.