5 Reasons why YSA wards are AWESOME!

What is a YSA ward?

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Why divide this group out?  

In a homeward you can be single or married, divorced, baby, youth, elderly..nearly dead.  You can be all the things.  But you have to meet certain criteria to be in a YSA ward: 18-30 years old and NOT married.

A YSA ward offers many benefits to this age group.

A YSA ward presents an opportunity for this group to step away from their family and decide if the church is really for them. It provides a chance to be mature about their own spirituality, to stop leaning on parent's testimonies and what’s comfortable.

YSA's in our ward are standing on their own. Going to church on their own and this isn’t always easy. 

So many think a YSA ward is all about dating and marriage or should be. 

It’s not.
It’s so much more than that.

If we keep this YSA-ward-is-only-about-getting-married stereotype, this old way of thinking, we are missing the mark. 

5 reasons why YSA wards are AWESOME:

1. A YSA ward has many activities. A home ward has maybe two a year.    Every week there is something to get involved in at a YSA ward:   FHE, Institute classes, Temple nights, Sports, Service, Mingles.

I was just at a YSA Pool party and I was amazed at all the fun that was being had, the dancing, playing, eating, and talking to each other. It was a beautiful, blessed site.   All having fun with no alcohol involved.  Something so unique in today's society.

2. A YSA ward is all about having 18-30-year-olds hold important leadership callings, not just teach primary or mutual.  It's about getting their spiritual tank filled. Teaching each other in meetings and also sharing opinions and answers in Sunday School classes, Relief Society and Elders Quorum.  The teaching callings in these areas would rarely happen for this age group in a home ward. The answering of questions and sharing of differing opinions would rarely happen sitting by your mom or dad as well. 

3. Testimony meeting in a YSA ward is a rich and rewarding meeting.   One after another, YSA's are testifying to their peers.  This would not happen in a home ward.   There is so much goodness and open-mindedness in this age group. They will be future leaders in the church. A YSA ward provides a strong foundation for this. 

4. There's great camaraderie in our YSA ward. The attendees actually enjoy being at church. With only YSA wards in a building, there is ownership in the treatment and cleaning of it.  

At the beginning of our sacrament meeting, during the prelude and even through the opening song there is greeting and a lot of inviting to sit with each other.  Always offering. Checking with others. Making sure no one feels left out.  This is challenging because YSA wards are always in flux.  New people coming and going all of the time.  The YSA's are up to this challenge.  

5. A YSA ward gives many opportunities to speak in church.  We get to hear from three beautiful souls each week.  

What YSA's need is a place to feel the spirit. An accepting place that allows them to serve and for their testimonies to grow. I've spent the last 2 1/2  years as a participant and an observer as Bishop’s wife in a Young Single Adult ward.  It feels like a mission since it has taken us out of our homeward, but it has been a total blessing. 

I'm coming up with new acronyms for YSA--

Y: Youthful. Young. Yearning. Yes to all of it. 

S: Sweet, Soulful, Spiritual. Satisfying. Stand up. 

A: Attitude. Adults. Anxious. Amazing. Awesome. 

Yearning to be Spiritual Adults  

If we can move past the YSA ward = marriage, we could move past the "shopping" around YSA wards to find who has the “best looking people” for someone to date.   

And one more thing....

YSA’s don't need lessons on dating and marriage. They feel societal and parental pressure around that on the daily.  

A YSA ward can provide so much more.