SCD Ideas

As United Methodist leaders gather in Fort Worth, Texas for the 2008 General Conference they will focus on a number of key issues related to the ongoing vitality of the denomination.  While the number of United Methodists has grown outside the United States, the U.S. Church has continued to decline in numbers.  In a paradoxical way, this ongoing loss of members is bringing leaders to a critical juncture in the life of the largest of the mainline denominations with just under 8 million members and over  34,000 local churches in the United States.  In order to connect with a younger, more diverse population it will need to have a major focus on starting new churches and revitalizing existing congregations. 
If you already have thousands of churches, why would you need more?  Because the population of the United States will grow by over 100 million people by 2050 and without new churches the UMC will not have an opportunity to offer ministry to a population that increasingly lives in urban America.
In 7 Myths of the United Methodist Church, I point out that in the best-selling book, The Tipping Point, the strategy of the John Wesley is highlighted.  Wesley realized that in order for people to grow in faith and practice as followers of Jesus Christ you have to create a community around them that would nurture them and encourage them in their faith journey.  Because of his strategy the Methodist movement exploded in the 1780s from 29 thousand to 90 thousand in the course of six years.  This principle holds true today.  Whether we are talking about Christian discipleship or educating our young people, without a community of people who care individuals easily get lost in our rapidly changing society.
The UMC is at another tipping point in its history.  While it is still strong and has great resources, by focusing on sharing the gospel to new generations of people both in the United States and around the world, it can create communities where individuals can flourish and mature in faith.  A choice for the future means focusing our efforts in a way that creates new faith communities that embrace newcomers with the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
For additional resources go to www.gbod.org\7myths

Its the week that High Seniors and their parents both anticipate and dread — they find out the colleges where they are accepted.  And for many more than in the past, who were rejected. 

A recent report in the NY Times says this year the elite colleges received the most applications in their history.  For example, the applications at Yale went from 12,000 in 1998 to over 22,000 in 2008.  As a result it accepted only 8.3 of its applications.  Harvard’s rate of acceptance was 7.1 or to put it another way, they rejected 93 out 100 applications.

Why the high numbers?  Because we are now entering the third year of the Youth Boom years of the Millennial Generation.  Millennials, born from 1982 to 1999, form our largest generation and next year the number of high school seniors will peak.  Today there are more children and youth in K-12 than at any time in our nation’s history.  As a result colleges are now reaching a numbers crunch when it comes to meeting the needs of this population.  In an ironic twist, the same thing is also happening in our prisons, as record numbers of young people under the age of 25 are now incarcerated in overpopulated jails and prisons.

While the mainline church as a whole is aging, a focus on ministry to young people and their families is essential as this new youth boom reaches its full bloom.  For its during youth booms that each new generation finds its voice and has great influence over the whole culture. 

If our passion is to create faith communities where people can discover the joy of following Jesus, we must engage our young people with the message of God’s redeeming grace and love.  Most people make decisions about faith and practice before the age of twenty-five.  This is not about saving the church, this is about connecting with a generation that is struggling with its place in our world and with individuals who find themselves devalued by institutions who are not equipped to meet their needs.  There is little time to waste.  Let us hope that it is not said in the future that in the first decade of the 21st Century the church rejected a whole generation at its greatest time of potential and opportunity.