Ministry With and For Young Adults

As a young adult in the United Methodist Church, I am impassioned by the need for young adult ministries that I see in my Church. It has been my experience that there are not very many ministries available specifically for young adults who are in college or out a few years. The UMC is in an interesting dichotomy because on the one hand, its members complain about the lack of young adults in churches, but on the other, when students graduate from high school, churches essentially say, “Have a good time in college! We’ll see you when you’re in your late twenties, married, and have a kid or two!”

This is not to say that all congregations are failing to minister to and reach young adults. Some congregations excel in ministries for this age group. Nor is it to say that we (young adults) should only participate in ministries geared directly toward us. On the contrary, multi-age ministries help people to grow in amazing ways. The ideas, wisdom, and stores shared across the boundaries of age and experience are wonderful. However, just like it is difficult to get junior high and high schoolers to get involved in ministries that are multi-age, it is difficult to involve young adults in these same ministries. When it comes down to it, we are most comfortable with those who are like us and are experiencing life in similar ways. If the UMC wants to reach more young people, it has to create ministries that are aimed specifically toward them.

There is a general lack of ministries now, but that has not always been the case. The Epworth League was a huge, all-encompassing ministry for the young people in the entire Methodist Episcopal Church. “Young people” included those who were youth (still in grade school) and young adults. The youth would grow up in the Epworth League and eventually become the young adults who led the ministry. This was the first case of the Methodist Church attempting to reach youth specifically. The Epworth League eventually died away, but recently, it has been resurrected specifically to reach young adults.

motive magazine was written specifically for Methodist college students during the 1960s and early 1970s. This was a place for avante garde artwork and articles on the issues of the times. This was an incredible resource for the young people of the day, giving them a way to connect the Church with their lives. It helped them to give voice to their own thoughts and opinions. It was media for them to pass around to their friends and get the word out that the Church would embrace its young people. When the magazine drifted too far into the controversial, printing articles and entire editions on homosexuality, the Methodist Church put its foot down and pulled funding on the magazine. Without this, motive had to cease to exist.

There were obviously moments when ministry with and by young people flourished. However, it seems that when the young people get too out of hand, no longer fitting into the traditional box of United Methodism, the Church will buckle down and silence these voices. The time has come for the Church to determine what it truly wants: to build strong leaders who know their own values or leaders who stick to the status quo.