By Benjamin Ceary
Family Outreach Director
Jefferson Community Church

At Jefferson Community Church (JCC) in Goshen, Indiana, we recently launched a new young adult church plant called The Lighthouse. This ministry began in March 2025 with a simple goal: to reach an age group that has been largely absent in the American church. What began as a small gathering around a coffee station has grown into a thriving community—and, as we soon discovered, a catalyst for change far beyond what we expected.

A New Work Begins
The story started when several young adults were seen lingering near the church coffee station instead of engaging in the worship service. Rather than insisting they return to the sanctuary, we decided to meet them where they were. In those conversations, we learned that these young adults weren’t disinterested in God, but they were searching
for genuine human connection.

Soon, our Friday evening fellowship was born. Seven months later, those stragglers around the coffee station have become the heart of The Lighthouse, a young adult congregation built on the GSE (Gatherer, Shepherd, Elder) process. Gatherers invite
friends, shepherds lead and teach, and elders provide maturity and stability.

“The mothership,” as Senior Pastor Ken Hunn affectionately calls JCC, embraced this new expression of ministry, and older members began volunteering to prepare meals for the Lighthouse gatherings. However, with one condition—if you bring food, you stay for fellowship. They did, and in doing so became living examples of the “E” in GSE, sharing wisdom and faith with the next generation.

When Growth Spreads
But new life rarely stays contained. The GSE process began to influence other areas of church life at JCC. Our children’s ministry, once struggling to survive, shifted from a lecture-style approach to a dynamic, small-group format. It quickly quadrupled in size. Our youth group, which had dwindled to just three members last winter, has grown tenfold. A new women’s GSE group also launched and is already bearing fruit.

What began as a young adult experiment started transforming the culture of the entire church.

Tension in the Transition
Not everyone celebrated the change. Some saw it as a departure from the traditions that had shaped the church for decades. Despite efforts to communicate and build bridges, the cultural shift was difficult for a few long-standing families, and some
eventually chose to move on.

This was a painful season, but also a revealing one. It reminded us that whenever the Holy Spirit moves, disruption often follows. New people bring new ideas, new wounds, and new expectations. Longtime members may feel displaced or uncertain. The result can look like chaos—but in God’s economy, chaos is often the first sign of creation.

A Living Body, Not a Museum
The church was never meant to be a museum for saints—it is a living organism, constantly being renewed. Healthy growth always disrupts equilibrium. Jesus Himself challenged the religious norms of His day, not to destroy but to renew. In the same way, when God sends new people into our churches, He may be reshaping us into a more faithful reflection of His kingdom—a kingdom that transcends language, culture, and generation.

Shepherding Through Change
Pastoral leadership during times of transition requires patience, humility, and a commitment to reconciliation. Shepherds must walk closely with both groups—the established members who feel unsettled and the newcomers who feel uncertain.

Some practical steps that helped us at JCC include:
• Listening before leading—taking time to understand people’s fears, hopes, and hurts.
• Teaching biblically about the unity of the body (Ephesians 4:1–6; Romans 12:3–5).
• Creating spaces for shared stories—where generations can hear one another’s journeys of faith.
• Modeling hospitality—ensuring that everyone knows they belong at Christ’s table.

Unity does not mean uniformity. It means learning to love across differences and seeing those differences as gifts rather than threats.

Finding Peace in the Midst of Disorder
Paul reminds us, “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Yet that peace is not found in the absence of disruption—it is seen when the Holy Spirit brings divine order through it.

The recent cultural shifts at JCC have reminded us that the church belongs to Christ alone. Our preferences, programs, and traditions must all yield to His mission. What felt like chaos at times was really the Spirit dismantling barriers that kept us from reaching the next generation.

For us here at JCC, we see the Spirit most at work when our elders sit alongside our young adults, lovingly playing games around a campfire and laughing long into the night.

Embracing the Holy Disruption
The chaos that comes with change is not the enemy—it is often the birthplace of renewal. Like a seed that must break open to bear fruit, the church must sometimes be disrupted to grow.

As pastors and leaders, our calling is to shepherd our people through that breaking with grace, hope, and trust in God’s faithfulness. If we can embrace the holy disruption that comes with diversity and growth, we may find ourselves not losing our identity, but rediscovering it—rooted not in tradition or preference, but in the unchanging love of Christ.

About the Author:
Benjamin Ceary serves as the Family Outreach Director at Jefferson Community Church and leads The Lighthouse, a GSE-based young adult ministry. He is passionate about helping churches grow through discipleship, community, and Spirit-led renewal.

Want to know more about how Vision USA and the GSE (Gatherer/Shepherd/Elder) Process can reinvigorate your church or help it reproduce? Visit www.visionusa.org to learn more!