In September 2023, I called our young adult pastor, Dallas (he has never lived there), to talk about a burden I was sensing from God. I continually heard from young adults their desire to connect with other young adults, and that with all our worship services, it was harder to connect than they hoped. There was not one place to go. I was also growing in my desire to shepherd young adults. I had just finished leading a high school guys group for four years, and these young men were now all in college. I often heard from young adults that I was playing a fatherly role in their lives, and I was convicted by God to step more into that role. I wondered if we could have a Thursday night gathering that was both the first service of the weekend AND exclusively for young adults. Dallas was all-in from the first conversation, and we moved really fast because of his commitment. Dallas is an incredible pastor for young adults. We had lots of groups for young adults but not a weekly gathering. Dallas and I worked closely together and launched Thursday Nights at Mariners in January 2024. Dallas and our Thursday Night team are absolutely incredible (Tiffany, May, Kim, Nadine, Amanda, and A.J.) They are very gifted, very committed, and very godly. I am really just the teacher. They have stewarded and shepherded this season with God-given vision, grit, and grace.
Weekly, I get questions from other ministry leaders about our young adult worship service at Mariners Church, so to be helpful (and save some time for our team), I am going to answer common questions. The gathering has grown exponentially, so sometimes our answers have been out of date. This information is as of the middle of October 2025. We launched with just over 1,000 young adults in January 2024 and now over 3,000 young adults gather each week.
The quick description?
Thursday Nights at Mariners is the first worship service of the weekend, and it is for young adults.
Church Nerd description?
Ok, some churches have Thursday night services as the first service of their weekend (think eleven22, Summit, etc.). And some churches have young adult gatherings during the week (think the Porch). Thursday Nights at Mariners is a blend of these two models—the first service of the weekend, but for young adults.
How long does the service last?
The service is longer (about 90 minutes) than our typical weekend worship services (which are about 70 minutes), with more worship time, and the message can also get a bit longer as I make more application points for the young adults.
Is the message the same as the other services?
Yes, we are always in the same teaching series, the same text, and the same message. There are moments in the message where something specific for young adults surfaces.
Who is a young adult?
We say someone who is in their 20s to 30s.
Have you had to get non-young adults not to come?
Yes, and it is not fun. We have amazing non-young adults who are Life Group leaders, elders, security, and prayer team members. The young adults benefit from them and love them. But someone who is not a young adult and not serving there should come to one of our other services. We have so many other services that they can attend. We have had to point that out to people, which is painful for everyone. It is easier now, though, because we actually need the seats. So someone who is not a young adult is taking a seat from a young adult.
Is it revival?
I am massively thankful for what God is doing in our young adult community. We are seeing people meet Jesus, people give up on the foolish pursuits this world offers, and people jump into serving as our new weekly gathering on Skid Row in Los Angeles is being led mainly by young adults. But I am a bit old school and in agreement with Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who said if it is revival, you don’t have to announce it. And revival is always accompanied by repentance, and repentance produces fruit. So, let’s see! Let’s see the fruit of godly men and women, future marriages that honor God, people embracing God’s mission in their careers, etc.
What makes the gathering distinct?
Other than the extended worship, our team works hard to create time before and after the gathering for young adults to connect and hang out. It can be as simple as a bunch of cereal or donuts, or more organized like line-dancing with a D.J. Just some fun hangtime after service.
Is it challenging for your schedule as Senior Pastor?
Sure, it is another night of the week. But the rewards far outweigh the challenges, and it is not even close. The biggest challenge for me is being able to fall asleep on Thursday night because I am so excited about what God is doing.
Any challenges to know about?
We have had to move other events and programs off campus on Thursday nights because of parking struggles. The young adult gathering has a different car-to-person ratio. Our weekend is about 1:1.8 and our Thursday gathering is 1:1.2. The capacity lid we have encountered first is parking, and we are working to find some solutions.
What is next?
If we can figure out parking, we have an outdoor worship center that would allow us to continue to grow to 4,000 people. The value for us is being sure that young adults can bring their friends with them. We are also considering scaling Thursday Nights at Mariners to other congregations. We are currently only hosting at one of our Southern California locations.
Should we do this?
You should pursue young adults and shepherd them and teach them God’s grace and truth. There are so many ways to do so. This is just a way.
