Life Younique is a process by which Christ followers can identify an actionable plan to apply their individual giftedness as they live out God’s unique calling for them. Ten members of the CMBA family will take part in an upcoming four-day training in Columbia led by Younique’s team from Future Church Company. Chris Reinolds is pastor of Killian Baptist and now a certified Life Younique coach trained to lead small groups in the process moving forward and will have a role in the training.
“This is a holistic approach on how to do life under the umbrella of your calling. It enables you to do every aspect of your life with freedom and enjoyment whether with family, at work, at play or in ministry. There is an excitement to living into that calling and an energy gained as you’re doing it,” Reinolds explains.
More than just a spirituals gifts analysis, Younique offers concrete tools to help individuals “know, name and live out their special calling from God.” Participants complete extensive assessments prior to the first two-day training session by which they learn to verbalize their life’s purpose. Several weeks later participants return for another two-day training to help them formulate intentional short and long-term plans to implement their special life assignments. The training sessions are spaced so that individuals have time to process their calling. Cohorts continue virtually for six to nine months after the training and Younique offers ongoing resources, online video training and support for participants.
Shane Stacey is a staff member on the Future Church Team and, along with his wife Heather, is a Life Younique Multiplying Trainer. He says most people in the Church know what they have been saved from, but they don’t know what they have been saved for. Younique’s approach weaves biblical principles throughout the assessment and equipping, driving home the value of each Believer’s calling in life.
“At Future Church, we often say that the functional great commission for most churches is to ‘go into all the world and make worship attenders, baptize them into the name of small groups and teach them how to serve a few hours a week.’ We need to move the finish line. God has been dreaming an Ephesians 2:10 dream for people since the beginning of time that is greater than merely to serve in the church nursery or on the technology team a few hours a week. Life Younique provides a process for people to discover and articulate their special calling. It then helps them identify how to integrate that calling into the core areas and relationships of their lives in the places where they live, work and play,” Stacey says.
Younique is billed as “the only gospel-centered life plan experience that is simple enough for every follower of Jesus and yet powerful enough to change the way people actually live.” This was the experience for Reinolds, who says he feels empowered to live differently after being trained. He gained clarity on his life’s purpose, which now includes helping others learn to do the same.
“I had been living into a life calling of trying to wake up those asleep in their Christianity, and it had drained the life out of me because that was not my calling. My calling is to help conscientious cultivators. My perspective has shifted with a new sense of purpose and understanding, now I invest my energies where they should be,” he says of his new approach to life and ministry.
While Younique is a tool developed for individuals, it has broader applications to the church setting. Participants answer five clarifying questions within a smaller cohort context: What am I called to do; Why do I do it; When am I successful in living out my calling; How do I live out my call in this season; and Where is God taking me next? Answers to these questions apply to both discipleship and leadership development.
According to CMBA Executive Director George Bullard, Younique could be an “incredible and intensive staff teambuilding process. For the laity, it could be a great advanced discipleship process. For pastor and staff church searches, it could be the ultimate assessment process. It is also a great continuing education opportunity for a pastor or staff member, or for those who need to get away and evaluate where they are in their ministry.”
Stacey says there are multiple entry points where this process could fit into ministry group or course contexts a church may already have, like the six-week Life Younique Primer, the six-week sermon series and small group kit, or the eight-week Life Younique Student version. “Life Younique On Call gives churches access to everything in our Life Younique toolbox including access to small group curriculum and online courses which can help to jump-start your digital discipleship toolbox,” he adds.
According to Reinolds, God “had a dream for your life from the beginning of time. God has a dream to permeate all the ‘silos’ of work, play, relationships and spiritual, and unite them around Himself. When we understand our Ephesians 2:10 call of why God made us, incredible things will begin to happen in our churches and communities. Younique can help with the discovery of God’s dream for your life and help you achieve mastery over what it looks like to be and to make disciples of Christ.”
Through his role as a certified coach, Reinolds is available to further discuss Younique and its training options. CMBA affirms Reinolds’ added-value service to its family of pastors, staff and congregational leaders. To contact Reinolds or learn more, visit www.chrisreinolds.com/younique. For online information about the Life Younique process, visit www.lifeyounique.com.