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 Serving two generations, Generation X and the Millennial Generation, Parkside Church's young adult ministry brings together an ever-changing, diverse group of young adults who are constantly on the move. The ministry is called Transit, a name that accurately reflects the transitional nature of this group. People who attend Transit are recent college graduates, graduate school students, young professionals, entrepreneurs, and some who are still deciding what they want do now that they're all grown up. Some are single, some are married, and some have started young families. As they look for jobs and apply to other schools, people who attend Transit are constantly moving in and out of the Northeast Ohio area. In working with this amorphous group, Pastor Scott Kennedy, a 30-something himself, seeks to "root the rootless."
A Night at :transit:
A typical Wednesday night at Transit, which meets at the Loft in Solon, may draw anywhere from 50 to 75 people. On this particular Wednesday night, several people have come straight from work or school and have brought their dinners with them so they can catch up with friends before the evening starts at 7:00. Fresh coffee has been brewed and waits to joined by homemade desserts that volunteers sometimes bring to share. Throughout the course of a typical Transit evening the group will sing praise songs, read a passage from Scripture, and pray before settling in to hear Pastor Kennedy teach. Currently, the group is studying the book of Galatians and focusing on what it means to have faith. In addition to studying the Scripture, nurturing relationships is also an important aspect of Transit, and some nights are devoted to playing games, listening to live music, or just getting to know other members in the group.
"We were pretty excited when we came to Transit because it was the first time we found a group that was right where we were in terms of age and being done with college, but not quite yet at the next step," says Alicia Pascoe, a 27-year-old graduate student and employee at John Carroll University studying community counseling. Her husband, Jason, works in manufacturing and sings and plays guitar with the worship band at Transit.
"Even though we felt like Parkside was where we belonged for church because of the solid biblical teaching we heard, we didn't meet a ton of people," explains Alicia. "It's difficult to make connections at a large church because even if you sit in the same spot every week, it's so big you don't ever see the same people. We really started making connections with people when we started coming to Transit."
 Making New Friends
While Transit is a ministry under the guidance of Parkside Church, the group is open to anyone. Indeed, for many Transit members, the Wednesday evening gatherings are a welcome supplement to their smaller, more mature Sunday congregations at different churches.
"I'm still involved in a smaller church on the West Side where I grew up," explains Jessica Tucker, a 25-year-old kindergarten teacher who works in an eastern suburb of Cleveland. "Transit fills my need to meet like-minded people who are both my age and also live on this side of town. Our church is just very small in general and there are only a couple of people my age who attend. It's nice to meet a larger group of young adults in order to make different kinds of friends."
For Sanjeev (Sonny) Bhasker, 30 and an attorney in Cleveland's prosecutor's office, Transit's diverse group is also appealing, "I like meeting people and hearing different stories and making new friends. It's also really convenient because you're typically free on a Wednesday night. I've brought a lot of friends here throughout the years and they've liked it. The main issue has just been the distance in traveling from the West Side. When I first started coming to Transit three or four years ago, I would say 75% of the people also attended Parkside. Now, I feel like 75% attend other churches as well. I'm from the West Side and I know that other people are coming from all different parts of northeast Ohio, too."
Sonny adds, "One thing I like about Transit as opposed to regular Sunday church is that there's time to socialize and develop relationships. A lot of times at church, people may want to talk after service, but they might feel like it's not proper to hold more than a three or four minute conversation with someone because they don't want to hold that person up. I feel like here it's more chill."
Branching Out, Serving Others
 On Sundays at Parkside, Heather Meeley looks for other Transit people to sit with during church service. "I started attending Transit about five years ago and went with a group to Biloxi to help with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. We bonded on that trip and we're still pretty close." Heather, 32, is a teacher, graduate student, and member of Parkside Church. "I've branched out and served in other ministries at Parkside, working in the nursery and other places, but I'm always brought back [to Transit]. I've helped with youth groups in the past, but it's neat to have a peer setting for now."
Jessica has also welcomed Transit's service opportunities and looks forward to doing more with the group. "I really appreciated that Transit's leadership group put a lot of effort this past summer into doing more outreach programs like visiting nursing homes and the Ronald McDonald House, and organizing a back-to-school program for kids in the inner city. It's a neat way to see the Lord working when you're out together ministering to people, and it's a neat way to make new friends."
What's Next?
Faced with the realities of adulthood, this age group no longer has the clear-cut roadmap that the school environment once provided. "There's this big question mark, like 'Where am I going with life?'" says Alicia. "I'm doing these certain things, but not feeling like we're quite there yet, but then not knowing where there is. I think it's nice to able to share with other people who are in that same place."
"I keep on learning," adds Sonny. "Regardless of the age group, once you're an adult, there are going to be different challenges in every season. I look at what my parents have seen, what my co-workers have seen, and I feel like there's always going to be some challenge to face."
For Alicia and Jason who are expecting their first child, "[Transit] won't always be the best fitting place for us and we'll have to grow and move on. Transit was a good place for us to get rooted into something and because we go to Parkside, I feel like we can stay rooted in the church, too."
For more information about :transit:, visit their website at www.parksidetransit.org.
Text and photos by Julie Hahn
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