November 23, 2001

Edition

By Michael Wacht

LAKELAND — The Florida Conference Youth and Young Adult ministry teams have decided to discontinue two key ministry events, while looking for ways to build a new community among the conference’s diverse young adult population.

Mike Standifer, director of the Florida Conference Council on Ministries’ (CCOM) Youth and Young Adult ministries office, said the changes are a result of listening to local churches and praying for a new direction for the conference’s ministry to young people.

Standifer held nine regional listening posts last March. He invited youth ministers, coordinators and volunteers to attend and share their vision for youth ministry. The listening sessions were followed by a prayer retreat and the Spring Training Event for youth ministers.

The process led to clarity about God’s direction for the ministry and the needs of local church youth ministers, Standifer said. The four needs most often expressed were communication, encouragement, networking, and training and spiritual development.

Participants at the Spring Training Event divided into four design teams to discuss ways the ministry area is currently meeting each area of need, what should continue and what is not needed. They also brainstormed new ideas.

“All of that is in process still,” Standifer said. “There are no final products.”

Ministry team members did decide to discontinue the conference youth event and Real Luv Weekend. Feedback showed most people felt the youth event, which has included concerts, worship and activities at a theme park, was not worth the time or money. Youth ministers also felt the Real Luv faith and human sexuality training could be done better at district or regional training events with assistance from the conference.

“I feel good about the fact that we had just over 100 people at each of the nine listening posts who really shared what the needs are in the local church,” he said. “And we’re moving in the right direction based on those needs.”

While the youth ministry team is moving with certainty in new directions, ministry to young adults is presenting some challenges that require unique solutions, according to Standifer.

“If you’re in middle school or high school…there’s programming geared toward you. After that, young adults kind of seem to get lost,” he said.

The Rev. Meredith McMillan, pastor of Golden Gate United Methodist Church in Golden Gate and chairwoman of the CCOM’s Young Adult Ministry team, said there is “a void when it comes to young adults active in the church.”

“Some churches are doing good and strong ministries for young adults,” she said. “But other than the good work we’re doing on college campuses, there’s very little for young adults.”

Standifer said the young adult category is very broad. The United Methodist Book of Discipline defines a young adult as someone between 18 and 30 years old. The Florida Conference stretches that definition to people in their late 30s. That age range encompasses people in a number of life stages that vary significantly.

Standifer says such diversity makes it nearly impossible to design a program that will reach everyone effectively.

One ministry solution the team has developed is an on-line community specifically for young adults through an Internet Web site. The site’s address is http://www.searching7.com, and it features a chat room, message boards and resources to help young adults and churches trying to reach young adults.

McMillan says the site meets several goals. “We want to support those young adults still hanging on in the local churches and find ways to help them connect with each other and empower them to create a ministry and space for themselves,” she said. “It will also help local churches open their doors truly to those in between youth and middle age.”

The Web site helps young adults network and find resources and churches learn about successful ministries.

McMillan says creating a new church community in cyberspace also helps expand everyone’s understanding of what the church is and can be.

“It’s outside the bounds of what we understand as inside the church, which traditionally means inside of a building, but technology allows us to expand that definition,” she said. “Communication on the message board, that’s the church. It’s not a tangible building, but if it happens in the spirit of who we are as United Methodists, it’s not outside the church, it’s just outside how we’ve been living the church to this point.”

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© 2001 Florida United Methodist Review Online