If you visit Nativity on nearly any Sunday evening during the school year, you’ll find Scott Cooper investing his time and energy in high school and middle school students. You’ll see him leading games and engaging one-on-one with members of the youth group. Scott knows what it takes to build relationships with young people because he was a youth group member not that long ago.
Scott began worshiping at Nativity as a boy when his family moved to the area from Salisbury. He joined the Youth Choir at a time when the group presented a faith-based musical each year. The musical was performed at Nativity, and also “on tour” at host churches in North Carolina and neighboring states. Scott says that the friendships formed during those musical tours made a lasting impact on his life and faith.
During his high school years, the seeds of faith planted in Scott’s life began to flourish in new ways. He grew in his ability to articulate his faith and make it his own through time in faith formation classes led by mentors such as Pastor Gregg Hoffman. Working and volunteering outside of worship with Nativity disciples such as Randy Treiber showed Scott how his faith could impact everyday life. Through it all, the disciples gathered at Nativity have supported and nurtured him. Today, Scott is comfortable talking about his faith with coworkers in order to let them know that they are loved by God.
When asked what dreams he has for Nativity, Scott shares that he would like to see more people participating in the life of the congregation in addition to gathering for worship on Sunday mornings. “You can learn a lot about the Bible during worship, but what are you doing about it?” he asks. As he looks back at his growing-up years at Nativity, Scott can see all the ways that disciples invested in him and his faith journey. He tries to live out his faith each day. He says, “I want to live by example. If I can help someone in a day, the day has gone better. I want others to know that there are people willing to help them out.”
Nativity has a long history of ministering to young people in ways that equip them to carry a deeper faith into adulthood. Scott and other disciples continue that ministry today, inspiring new generations of Christians to carry their faith into a changing world that desperately needs hope for the future.
