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By KIM MULFORD
Courier-Post Staff
At first, 18-year-old Jacqueline DiMenna didn't really want to go to church on Sunday nights. She already went to the morning services with her family at Marlton Assembly of God. She thought a fellowship group geared to people ages 18 to 30 years old "was going to be annoying, really boring."
But her 21-year-old brother, Bryan, encouraged her to go to The Trust, which started meeting in April.
"He said it was fun," said DiMenna, a Washington Township college freshman. "I was, like, all right. I guess I'll try it out."
She went to a Sunday night meeting and was hooked.
"I really liked it," she said. "The message was straightforward. It didn't have a lot of extra stuff. It kept your attention and wasn't that long."
Few churches have ministries devoted to attracting young adults, said Ryan Wallace, the 25-year-old leader of The Trust. Churches tend to focus on children and families, while leaving the college crowd to fend for itself.
"Once you get out of high school, there's nothing out there for fellowship groups," said Wallace.
The Trust is growing. It began with about a dozen people in April at the request of Wallace's pastor and now has about 30 regulars and new people keep coming.
Wallace, a Medford resident, oversees the group's worship service on Sunday nights, delivering a brief message and leading prayer in a school room at the church. Later, he invites the group back to his house for pizza, conversation and volleyball.
On a recent Sunday, 23 young adults congregated at his house until 2:30 the next morning. They also get together on Thursday nights for dinner, schedule weekend trips to concerts, the mountains, shopping outlets and organize football games and hayrides. They keep in close touch through the week through e-mail and cell phones.
"We do so many things," said Wallace, who works in the mortgage business. "I think it's a great way to have Christian fellowship and also have clean fun."
Wallace has some experience with this sort of thing. He grew up in church and started the Rutgers-Camden chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ when he was a student there. Now, he teaches Sunday school and runs The Trust.
He calls his 24-year-old sister, Danae, his role model. She worked as a missionary in China for a year and leads the singing at The Trust. She also runs Campus Crusade at Burlington County College, where she is a full-time student.
Ann Wills, 25, watched people her age stop going to church before The Trust began.
"After youth group, it's hard for a lot of people to stay in (church)," said Wills, a music teacher at Marlton Christian Academy. "They go from youth group to being an adult."
Now, the Marlton resident spends her weekends with other young singles who share her beliefs. Members of the group share their problems with each other, too, and Ryan Wallace prays with them. They worry about finances, their families, their future.
"We all struggle with the same things in our lives, with religion and trying to stay on the right path," Wills said. "I've hung out with the older ladies. You can't relate to their stories and what's going on with their lives."
Sometimes, Wallace shares his testimony about how God has worked in his life.
A basketball accident in 1998 left him unable to walk more than a block without assistance. With his left leg wasting away and his back a mess, doctors told him he might not be able to walk at all one day.
For two years, Wallace prayed for healing, without results. His faith did not waver.
"I kept trusting in God that it was for a purpose," he said. "I wasn't questioning God."
While struggling with his injury, he started the Christian fellowship group at college. In 2000, after a prayer service at church, his pain disappeared. The next day, his chiropractor could find nothing wrong with his back or leg, which had been restored to its normal size overnight. He was playing baskeball again the next weekend.
Sunday, Wallace focused his Bible message on 1 Peter 5:7. " Cast all your anxieties upon him, because he cares for you," the verse reads.
Trust God, he told the group.
"Never forget that God is in control," Wallace said. "We' re here for you. God is here for you."
Reach Kim Mulford at (856) 845-6521 or kmulford@ courierpostonline.com
