Conferences share best practices to attract young clergy

By United Methodist News Service

DALLAS (UMNS) - Concerned about the critical need for more young clergy in The United Methodist Church, representatives from 13 annual (regional) conferences are brainstorming ways to assist young people who are called to ordained ministry.

"We stand a better chance at success in helping people hear God's call if we are intentional about fostering environments in our communities of faith that make the possibility of hearing God's call more plausible," said the Rev. Brandon Harris, associate pastor of Anniston (Ala.) First United Methodist Church.

Harris, of the North Alabama Annual Conference, is among representatives of United Methodist conferences already engaging in some of the best practices for developing young clergy. Leaders from those conferences gathered Oct. 28-30 in Dallas to share what works and map strategies for developing ordained leaders across the denomination.

Local recruitment
Sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the meeting was organized because of the critical role that annual conferences play in inviting and developing young adult clergy, according to the Rev. Meg Lassiat, the board's director of Student Ministries, Vocation and Enlistment.

"As young adults consider ordained ministry, enroll in candidacy and work through the process, their relationship with their annual conference is crucial for their future in ministry," Lassiat said.

The United Methodist Church has identified development of new clergy as one of four areas of focus for the denomination for the foreseeable future. A 2005 report revealed less than 5 percent of United Methodist elders are under age 35.

Attending the "best practices" event were representatives from the annual conferences of North Alabama, Baltimore-Washington, Central Pennsylvania, Central Texas, Florida, Holston, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and Western North Carolina.

Participants said it was helpful to share effective strategies from across the denomination.

"One of the deepest resources we have is our connectional system, which provides an organic opportunity to collaborate with others," said the Rev. Bart A. Fletcher, pastor of Belgrade Avenue United Methodist Church in North Mankato, Minn.

"The best practices meeting reminded me that God is at work in all corners of the world, amidst demographic and theological diversity, to raise new leaders in the Christian movement."

Although Fletcher said the Minnesota conference has attracted sufficient candidates in recent years, he believes the conference must work proactively to ensure continued leadership when, in the next decade, 50 percent of its active elders will be retired.

Exploring the call
Lassiat asked each conference to send a description of what they do to invite and train young people in leadership and to help encourage young adults to consider ordained ministry. The feedback was compiled into a report, and representatives were asked to "think about how annual conferences invite, train and retain youth and young adults at all points along the discernment and candidacy process." A compilation of their best practices is scheduled to be available at www.explorecalling.org in mid-December.

Fletcher said he hopes the Minnesota conference will initiate a pilot project called "The Discernment Academy" to provide high school and college students the opportunity to discern vocational call.

"I hope this will include opportunities for personal spiritual growth through discernment, enlisting the partnership of seasoned lay and clergy leaders, and utilizing cohort groups that will engage an action-reflection model for a period of up to two years," Fletcher said.

Participants talked about identifying and creating ways to encourage each other and other annual conferences to be more intentional and effective in helping young adults and youth hear and respond to God's call to ordained ministry.

"As clergy, we often get so focused on our everyday ministry, where we are serving and what is coming up next, that we lose the ability to see in a wider context who God may be calling to serve in Christian vocations," said the Rev. Amelia Sims, director of Residency in Ministry for the North Alabama Conference.

"For ordained clergy and those in the ordination process, it is helpful to look again at our own call-to-ministry stories. Many of us can see not only the hand of God in our call but the work of the Holy Spirit through other persons - clergy and laity alike."

The North Alabama conference had only 16 ordained elders under the age of 35 and even fewer probationary elders under 35 in 2006.

"It is up to us to really think about and be able to articulate why younger adults would be able to grow and flourish in their ministry in this annual conference. We need to be extending the invitation rather than waiting for them to just show up," Sims said.

Sims has focused on extending the invitation since she joined the conference staff. A recruitment team organized this fall has begun to look at the best ways of recruiting young seminarians at five local theological schools.

In addition, Harris is working to identify local churches that have been effective in developing high-quality candidates for ministry, as well as churches that have strong potential for this task.

A new culture
The Rev. Carol Bruse, associate director of the Center for Clergy Excellence for the Texas Annual Conference, said the meeting was a strong step forward in addressing an important issue across the denomination.

"I think I left that meeting most excited about the potential for us as a group - with the support of Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, president of the Council of Bishops, and the support of many of the bishops of the conferences represented at the meeting - to help create a culture of call for The United Methodist Church," she said.

Bruse said such a culture can be developed "as we continue to meet annually, continue to share our best practices with one another and with other conferences, and continue to brainstorm ways we can work together to influence conferences not yet represented at that table."

*This report was compiled by the Rev. Angela Sims, director of Residency in Ministry, North Alabama Conference, and Vicki Brown, associate editor, Office of Interpretation at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry