By C.B. Hanif
Rev. Aaron Janklow arrived at the First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach doing what any congregation wants of a new clergyman. The result is TnT — or Twenties ’n’ Thirties — the popular young professionals group he leads.
The new associate minister didn’t find much going on for the above-20-year-old, post-graduate, young professional age group, other than the club scene. So he replicated the TnT of his former First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, Mich., from which he arrived last August.
His group meets at 6 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month in the church’s Christian Learning Center.
“This has turned into a place where they can pursue their faith, but also find a good group of solid friends,” said Rev. Janklow, 28, before a recent meeting. “We go out to dinner after this pretty frequently. Or we go to see movies together and different stuff. So it’s been good.”
TnT began over lunch with Kim and Grant Winker, who are very involved in the “Community Church By the Sea” pastored by the renowned Rev. Dr. Ted Bush. They quickly were joined by Karlton Brown, currently on a mission trip in Ghana.
“There are about eight core members, and up to 13 people on a given night,” Janklow said. “We have (age) 22, just graduated college, to 38 and married, but not yet with children.”
The majority aren’t members of his church. Some who attended on a recent Wednesday were casually dressed. Others, seemingly fresh from the office, wore a tie — or not.
Kevin Bush, 30, said South Florida churches tend to strongly support younger and older people, but “there’s this yawning gap between 20s and 30s even 40s.”
“It’s nice,” said Grant Winkler, 38, “to meet friends that have similar types of values in terms of faith and the way you look at life, and to have a group where we discuss the kinds of things that we discuss here.”
“The things that we talk about here,” said Taylor Schieck, 23, “give me an opportunity to ask my questions and be honest about how I feel about religion and faith.” His wife of one week, Sarah, 22, was attending her first TnT meeting.
“It’s a great opportunity for young people to get together on a regular basis and talk about their faith,” said Ann Margot Peart, 32, before Janklow opened up with prayer and launched a discussion of The Reason for God, by Timothy Keller. “And I’ve found it extremely educational as well.”
For more on Twenties ’n’ Thirties, call the church at 561-276-6338 or go to www.firstdelray.com/youngprof.htm.
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