Joe Bachman believes adults are looking for connections. "We all need help through life," said the youth group leader from Wrightsville.

Bachman, who has been a youth group leader for four decades, has taken his experience with young people and extended it to adults.

Evolve Life Group is a new group for people age 45 and up.

"We have three core values: supporting ourselves through life, supporting others in the group and community service," Bachman said. "Our 2024 motto is, 'Grow big, stay small.'"

Bachman explained that the motto means the group hopes to increase in size from the 35 or so people who have participated in the meetings since the group formed in September, but stay small in terms of prioritizing connections between members.

"The more people who join, the bigger impact we can make," he said. "This is not a membership or something you need to feel committed to. You don't need to come to everything. You can pick and choose what you want to do, but the more people who are in our group, the more people who can participate when we go out into the community."

Evolve meets on the last Sunday of the month from 5 to 6:30 p.m. as well as on the second Wednesday of the month, when the group meets at a local restaurant for food, fun and fellowship. Every three months, the group participates in a community service project.

The Sunday meetings are currently held at Bachman's house, but the group is quickly outgrowing the space, so he's considering other options.

Although Evolve is faith-based, it is not a religious organization, Bachman emphasized. "We have people of many different denominations who are part of this," he said. "We want to be an organization in the community doing outreach and support to organizations that already exist." In the past few months, the group members have supported organizations, including Servants Inc. and Unto and have participated in outings such as a progressive dinner at Christmastime and Christmas caroling.

Not only is Bachman looking for people to join Evolve, but he is also seeking community organizations looking for support. "Maybe an organization has a special event coming up, and they could use extra help," he said. "Give us a call."

When summing up his vision for Evolve, Bachman refers to John 15:5: "It says, 'I am the vine and you are the branches,'" he said. "We're out there reaching out to people. We're out there making connections with each other and with organizations in our community."

For more information about Evolve, call Bachman at 717-424-1136 to receive details and the address for upcoming meetings. The next meeting will be held on Sunday, Jan. 28.