INGO VAN DER MERWE – FOUNDER

My experience is that young adults are not being discipled in the word and ministry of our Lord. As parents, Pastors, and adults, we have the responsibility to hand the baton on to the next generation. We are failing them.

The youth long for meaning and purpose, they are lonely in this digital and social media age, they seek authenticity especially in their relationships. They feel lost and disconnected  because the world tells them there is no truth, there is no absolute, there is nothing to stand upon to build their lives. The world tells them that their feelings are their guide as that is their authentic self. The only thing that matters is oneself, therefore love yourself first and foremost. Young men in particular feel disconnected and sidelined because the world tells them that the natural leaning of a man is bad and destructive.

We have failed the next generation. We have dropped the baton. The Bible is clear; raise up a child in the way he should go, and he will not depart from it. We are called upon to disciple the next generation to love the Lord and to follow Him, to know and obey the Scriptures. I am deeply committed to this as it is God’s directive, His Kingdom strategy, His government of Love.

I hold to a generally orthodox and reformed view of the scriptures and theology.

I hold to the idea that we need to hold to an infinite mindset and not a finite mindset.

I deeply believe in God and His call on my life to say with Paul, follow me as I follow Christ, and to Jesus’ own words of ‘go and make disciples’.

I hold to the idea that one practices the way one plays, so this gap year is filled with experiential learning and dialogue, study and practice, adventure and solitude, challenge and growth, accountability, and responsibility, living the idea of being a living sacrifice.

I’m convinced that the youth want to be taken seriously, given responsibility and agency, challenged and entrusted with important things.

I am old school. I am more concerned with the renewal of your mind more than your feelings. My job is to make you stand on your own two feet, on solid ground, in faith.