Your church has a few teenagers. Your neighboring churches each have a few teenagers. On your own, some of you either have small youth groups or no separate gatherings for young people. What could it possibly look like to come together and collaborate?

Rev. Chris Dela Cruz, with Westminster Presbyterian Church in Portland, OR, is experimenting with a few churches around the neighborhood to build together a Youth Collective, started during the height of lockdowns, that meets regularly and is trying to do ministry together. It is not a definitive model or even a model at all – simply one story that could inspire others to collaborate and see the power of working together rather than seeing other churches as “competitors.”

Come to the webinar for storytelling and to learn from experimentation.

Chris Dela Cruz is the Associate Pastor of Youth, Young Adults, and Community Engagement at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Portland, OR. His background includes newspaper journalism, youth and college ministry, and community organizing in New York City, where he organized with Queens Power (IAF). He is an adjunct professor with Warner Pacific University and on the strategy team of Next Church. He currently organizes with multiple local metro Portland area coalitions, including the BIPOC Faith Leaders Council for Black Lives in PNW, Leaven Community Land and Housing Coalition, IMIrJ (Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice), Portland Jobs with Justice, and the Together Lab organizing cohort.

This webinar was originally broadcast on November 17, 2022.