Merge Abilene is a new ministry that seeks to unite young adults and students from all over Abilene through worship.
The ministry was founded by Hardin Simmons graduates who saw that even though a great deal of young people have church homes, a rift exists between students from the three universities.
“Our goal is one united city,” Ryan Hughes a founder of Merge Abilene and worship leader said. “To have three private universities in one town is pretty unique and we want to bring these three universities that are seemingly disjointed under one roof to unify for Jesus.”
The ministry has been traveling to different locations around town to reach out to students about its worship service for the young adults of Abilene.
“We began visiting places for Merge in about mid-August and have been going to different events, playing in chapels just getting our names out as much as we could around the campuses,” Conner Baker a founder and media person for Merge Abilene said.
Merge Abilene is also a new volunteer opportunity for students to become involved with while in school or for young adults living in Abilene.
“If anybody feels lead to be in our worship band or if somebody wants to help with our announcements we are always looking for help,” Kasey Hughes a founder, volunteer and over-all manager for Merge Abilene said. “These are just some different opportunities for people to come help us and also serve others.”
A new point of focus for the ministry is assisting in the aid for Syrian refugees.
“We have partnered with Highland Church of Christ to give to the refugees that are fleeing from Syria right now and are taking up donations after services and online through our website,” Kasey said.
The ministry is still very new to Abilene but offers a fun environment with a strong media element that is built for students by former students.
“It’s just a different kind of environment that we didn’t see in Abilene when we were in college,” Baker said. “We would go to different college groups or churches and they were great but ours has a different kind of feel.”
To receive updates on where Merge Abilene will be meeting next, follow them on Twitter and Instagram at MergeAbilene, like them on Facebook or check out their website mergeabilene.org.
