Kerdos: College & 20s Life

Kerdos is the Greek word for “gain” in Philippians 1:21: “To me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Why on earth would Paul say that death is gain? It’s because, for Paul, death is an entryway into the physical presence of our risen Lord Jesus. Death is gain because it gets us Christ and he is the greatest of treasures, the supreme delight of the human heart. But by the Spirit whom Christ has poured out upon the church, we can know and enjoy the presence of Christ and live for his glory even in the present. Death is gain, but so also in the present life we can know great gain. 

Kerdos exists to help students and other young adults pursue such gain and live into it more and more, seeking first Christ and his kingdom, knowing the wonder of all manner of other good things being added, and earnestly longing for the day when one kind of gain will give way to another. We aim to cultivate mature Christian living among young adults at Grace Church for the purpose of deepening our enjoyment of and communion with Jesus Christ, living into our identity as his church, and joining him in his mission for the life of the world.

We would love for you to find a home in the Grace Church family and our Kerdos group. If you’re a college student at Wheaton College, North Central College, College of DuPage, or another school nearby, or if you’re out of college and looking to grow in a Christ-centered environment, we invite you to join us for our church’s main corporate worship service, our Kerdos Sunday school, one of our weekly community groups, or other Kerdos events and goings on. 

Every Sunday morning before the main service during the academic year, Kerdos hosts an Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF), a time of teaching, prayer, and fellowship. Our Sunday morning ABF time is an opportunity for biblical and theological instruction and Christian catechesis, as we move through series on books of the Bible and various theological topics. 

Transportation for students is available. Sundays during the school year, a church van picks up students at Wheaton College (8:45am in the circle outside the Beamer Center). If you’re a student from another local college, please contact us (info@gracedupage.org) and we would be glad to arrange transportation!

Though Kerdos seeks especially to shepherd young adults at Grace Church, we are always glad to have adults of all ages join our ABF. We welcome, and are greatly blessed by, a diversity of individuals for these times of togetherness.

At Kerdos we aim to strengthen our life together as members of Christ’s body and to echo and reinforce in our daily lives the formation we receive in our Sunday morning corporate worship. Toward this end, we host various community groups and small group meetings throughout the week for young adults in the area. Many of our meetings center around a shared meal, time in the Word, and prayer and accountability. If you would like to visit one of these groups, or if you have any questions about them and other opportunities for discipleship, please contact Lance Hinkle.

We desire to cultivate togetherness and foster the building of Christ-honoring relationships.  Sponsored events throughout the year are one important means (in addition to our small groups) toward this end. We’d love to have you join us for an upcoming gathering. For more information, or if you have an idea for an event, please contact Lance Hinkle.  Members of our group are frequently gathering outside of "official" Kerdos hosted events.

Other events of interest

We like to encourage involvement with church family members of all ages and stages of life.  Consider gathering with, reaching out to, or serving with our church body as a whole in the following opportunities: