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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
March 2002 |
Youth answering 'the Call':
Are we helping or hindering?
When 15-year-old Dana Slater left for camp at Epworth Forest last summer, she planned to be a school psychologist. Following a special service the last night of camp, she knew God was urging her to enter an off-site chapel. While inside, she felt God calling her to a new direction - the ministry.
"People prayed with me," said Dana, a member of Christ UMC in Indianapolis, "that I might make the right choices and hear what God wanted me to do. . I'd never thought about being a youth pastor as a vocation. But it's really exciting."
Dana was not alone in her new calling. A survey of 1,500 summer campers from third to 12th grade in the SIC revealed that 19 percent strongly agreed with the statement: "I feel called into some kind of ministry." Yet on a national level, the number of United Methodist seminary candidates being ordained as elders dropped from 820 in 1990 to 621 in 2000. While the number of candidates under age 30 has grown from 20 percent to 30 percent in the past decade, the average age for those entering ordained ministry increased from 30 in 1970 to over 40 in 2001.
Numerous reasons have been cited for the shortage of young people entering vocational ministry - time, money, resources, a society of materialism, a lack of recruitment by local churches, a devaluation of the ministry as a profession, a church unwilling to modernize and a narrow view of options in vocational ministry.
"This is the most spiritual generation I've worked with in 35 years of youth ministry," said the Rev. Jack Scott, senior pastor at Columbia City UMC. "We need to put flesh on the bones of that spirit. . If we miss this generation, then we've blown it big time."
Drawing youth into ministry
What are the North and South Indiana Conferences and churches doing to involve, recruit and support Dana and her peers in their pursuit of vocational ministry? Through camps, convocations, retreats, workshops, mentoring and outreach, both conferences are trying to encourage youth to explore the different facets of vocational ministry.
Summer camps may be one of the best vehicles for identifying and assisting youth with spiritual formation and calls to ministry, said Kevin Wrigley, director of outdoor ministries for the SIC. The programs prompt youth to think about their relationships with God, the changes they need to make in their lives and how they will deal with their own calls to ministry. Afterward, directors and counselors write each of the campers, especially those who have made important decisions. Campers are also urged to be in contact with their pastors, find mentors and remain active in their local churches.
In 2001, Bishop Woodie W. White fostered an initiative to give youth greater opportunities to learn about the call to ministry in its broad definition. In response, both conferences are organizing youth convocations for the end of August and September with speakers, videos, worship time and interactive experiences that will offer vocational information on ordained ministry as an elder and a deacon, diaconal ministry, missions, youth and children's ministries, chaplaincy, music ministry and education.
Six youth discover calling at Leo UMC |
Leo UMC in Ft. Wayne, with almost 600 members, boasts six youth who feel called to pursue ordained ministry. Members of the congregation credit various factors for this outpouring of youth - a great youth director and programming, a strong summer camp experience, a passionate senior pastor and an encouraging district superintendent. "The whole church has been really supportive, giving me more opportunities to get a feel for and experience ministry," said Emily Staaland, 19. By engaging all members of the congregation in direct ministry of the church, many of them recognize their calls to ministry, said the Rev. Jean Moorman Brindel, senior pastor of Leo UMC. "They claim God's gifts for their life," she said. "They can step out and do these things from the time they're old enough to understand." Lisa Schubert |
In addition, the North Indiana Conference hosted a vocational ministry workshop at a high school retreat last fall. And the South Indiana Conference sponsored the weekend retreat "All Are Called" in January. It brought in community members from various ministerial professions to give about 30 high school youth a firsthand glimpse of career opportunities.
"We want to help youth who are serious about their faith to come in touch with gifts and calling," said Wrigley, who helped organize the retreat. "It's based on the premise that every Christian is called to ministry in everyday life - to be a minister at school, with friends and while working in a secular profession."
Nurturing more youth to discern calls to full-time ministry also requires intense involvement from local churches. The Rev. Cathy Johns, co-pastor at First UMC in Warsaw, chairs a task force on church leadership that examines how God calls people into ministry and the church's responsibility in those calls.
She said the church community plays an important role in young peoples' vocational choices, many of which begin in the 5th or 6th grade. Youth workers and Sunday school teachers should be frequently asking the question, "Is God calling you to ministry?" She believes that the church community must also offer youth ways "to get their feet wet in a safe way" - reading Scripture, helping to serve communion, leading in youth groups and receiving guidance from a pastor.
Danielle Burns, 16, a member of Heritage UMC in Lafayette, has found relationships with mentors and pastors to be extremely encouraging after she answered a call to ministry at the North Indiana Annual Conference session.
"When the bishop or district superintendent writes me letters, it's like, 'They remember me!'" she said. "Find a mentor or a pastor. . You have a lot of time to fulfill that calling - to pray, to seek knowledge and to look forward."
But, those obstacles.
Despite many attempts to attract young people to ministry, several Indiana pastors mentioned major obstacles for the UMC - its traditional approach and the lengthy candidacy process. The Rev. David Maish, Muncie District superintendent and chair of the NIC Cabinet, said the UMC is "locked into a '50s climate" of worship and of assisting young people with calls to ministry.
Laura Greene, 18, a member of Battleground UMC, added that her generation is used to praise bands, guitars and radical ideas.
"(The elders) think of us as punk kids running around," said Laura, who might become a youth minister. "Even for those of us trying to be responsible, it's hard to get a foot in the door unless we're looked upon as leaders instead of punk kids."
And the Rev. Todd Ladd, an associate pastor at College Avenue UMC in Muncie, said he has seen youth go elsewhere to do ministry because the UMC has too many overwhelming barriers. He added that since the expense of seminary can be a large hindrance for youth, the UMC must support them financially and be willing to open up its staffing to "a broader range" than it is right now.
Such a range includes different avenues of ministry, as 17-year-old Justin Clupper has discovered while working on video projects at Columbia City UMC. He said he wants to be "living God's love out in the workplace" as a cinematographer who makes movies and commercials "with standards."
In the end, Johns said, the UMC needs to be cultivating the ministerial ground for youth by finding new and innovative ways to nurture young leadership in the church.
"What's its going to take?" Johns said. "A community that calls people. . We have a responsibility together to raise up pastors."
Last updated on 01/14/2004