The Light Ministry

Open Letter from Alex Tuckness

This is not an easy letter to write. After discussing the matter with Troy, our senior pastor, on Friday and informing the Servant Team at our meeting earlier today (Saturday), we have decided that The Light will meet for the last time on Thursday, August 14 (there is no meeting on Aug. 7). This was a difficult decision, so I would like to explain why and how it was made in detail below. For those who want the bottom line, I want to assure you that Cornerstone remains committed to having a strong ministry for post-college adults, and in particular for single adults. In a nutshell, we are ending The Light because we think a new ministry will be better able to fulfill the purposes that the Light was originally created to fulfill. We are ending it now because we believe this will speed up the process of starting a new ministry for this group in the future. Ending now will also make it easier for people to make decisions this fall about getting into connection groups, men's groups, women's groups, and the many opportunities there are to serve (HUGS, D6, 180, Escape, IFC,...).

I have been concerned about the future of The Light for over a year, and told a number of people that this past year would be a make or break year for the Light. Most of our key leaders from earlier years were transitioning out of the ministry and it was important to bring in new people who had the right mix of gifts to replace the people who were leaving. It never really happened. Leaders have been leaving much faster than they have been replaced, and the overall numbers at The Light have steadily declined from past years where we sometimes had over 90 people to the last couple of weeks which have been about 30. Both among leaders and the group as a whole, the level of enthusiasm and excitement has been declining.

I am, by nature, an optimist so I have continued to be hopeful that things would turn around. At the end of June I gave a talk where I laid out a vision for how The Light could try to let God's light shine more in the fall and explained how important it is to actually be light, not just have a ministry by that name that we keep running. We want to achieve God's purposes, not just keep a program running. We laid out a series of initiatives in July to start things going and to see if there was excitement about really taking things to a new level. The reality in July was that we did not. Instead, what I think the month revealed is that, on the whole, the level of energy in the group is continuing to decline. Really though it is not just about the month of July, since the long-term pattern has been unfolding for a long time.

When I talked to Troy on Friday, I expressed my reasons for concern and said that I wanted to keep at it for one more semester to see if we could turn things around. Troy has convinced me that in the long run it will be better to go ahead and end things now. Our single biggest need in this ministry area is for someone who has leadership as a primary spiritual gift. We have many different spiritual gifts represented at The Light, in teaching, music, service, mercy, and so on, and many people who even now are faithfully serving. But all the gifts really do depend on each other, and without that leadership the group as a whole can't reach its potential. I don't think that anyone active in The Light right now (myself included) has that gift to the degree it is needed. We think it will be easier to find that person if there is a blank canvas, so to speak, for what the ministry will look like. We can start that process now, by ending The Light, and as noted above can make it easier for those who go to the Light now to make decisions about joining connection groups and getting involved serving this Fall.

This year we created an intern position for the Light. We plan to maintain that position and will likely use it for whoever the new leader turns out to be. In fact, Troy is working on possibilities for having some kind of a staff position that would be more permanent for the Light as well. Nothing is definite, as it will depend on what God provides.

When we meet on August 14, it will be a chance to talk about the transition and to celebrate what God has done at the Light the last several years. It will also be a chance to thank the many people who have served at the Light for their hard work. I hope lots of people will turn up for this last event.

One of the things I have said often is that I am excited to see what God is going to do with this ministry. I still am. The particular version of the ministry is coming to an end, but the ministry will continue. We have had at least three other "versions" of this ministry in the past, and each time one has ended, something new rises up to take its place. I believe God will do that again, and I believe the ministry that emerges will be stronger and will fulfill more of God's purposes than what we are able to do now. Thank you for being a part of this ministry.

In Christ,
Alex Tuckness

Cornerstone’s young adult ministry, The Light, has three aims for those involved: