The Blessing
We are tremendously blessed as a Conference to be among those chosen to receive this pivotal grant through the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. The Young Clergy Initiative focuses on developing young Christian leaders under the age of 35. It provides very intentional opportunities for youth and young adults to grow in spiritual transformational leadership while discerning their calls to ministry as laity or clergy. The Young Clergy Initiative, as its name indicates, ultimately intends to increase the number of young ordained clergy which is a priority across the denomination, while many lay persons will grow in their passion and calling for Christian leadership, too. Kevin Witt, Director of Growing Spiritual Transformational Leaders for our Conference expresses gratitude to all who helped. “I want to thank the leaders here who worked so hard to formulate the grant proposal and to layout a framework for our Pathways of Spiritual Leadership that we can now move forward to implement. It is a true collaborative effort to address a very real need.”The Need
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., Former Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, professor of church leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary, and author of several books on leadership lays out the ministry frontier for the United Methodist Church.“If we reach more people, they are likely to be younger since United Methodists are overrepresented in every age category above 50 and underrepresented in every age category under age 50, compared to overall U.S. population… If we reach younger people, they are likely to be more diverse since the younger population is vastly more diverse than the nation’s older population. Statistics make clear whom we are not reaching for Christ. They tell us that as we respond to the call to take the Good News to all people, we must give special attention to younger people and more diverse people.” From Focus Newsletter, November 14, 2017
We recognize the valuable contributions of leaders of all ages who bless our Conference each and every day, and at the same time it is important to be purposeful in widening the engagement of the gifts and graces of younger leaders. Add to this the upcoming “tsunami” of clergy retirements among the Baby Boomers and the need comes even more to the forefront.
The most recent report “Clergy Age Trends in the United Methodist Church” (https://tinyurl.com/y5er23pt) is revealing. In 1985, 15% or approximately 1 out of every 7 U.M. Elders in the U.S were under the age of 35. By the year 2000, the number dropped to 1 in 20 Ordained Elders under the age of 35 (5%). A slow increase has occurred across the denomination since 2000 with a heightened focus, however, the statistics in the 2018 Clergy Age Report indicate that the number of Ordained Elders under 35 in the Susquehanna Conference is still less than 5% as of 2018. Changing this trend will take deliberate, steady attention and teamwork. Over the last decade the average percentage across the nation of Ordained Deacons under the age of 35 has surpassed 12%, but our Conference is far below that. Though statistics never tell the whole story, they do help us recognize trends and opportunities.
Where We Shine
The national average of U.M. Local Pastors under the age of 35 is 8%, but in the Susquehanna Conference the tables show us ranking 2nd in the country behind Texas with 20.1% of our Local Pastors being under the age of 35 in 2018 – 1 out of 5. We will learn from what is happening in this arena, while we work to open up new avenues to increase young leaders exploring calls as ordained Elders, Deacons and Certified Lay Ministers.Collaboration and “On Ramps”
The Pathways of Spiritual Leadership that will develop over the coming year hinge on linkages with key groups already engaged in leadership formation that can provide “on ramps” for a more interconnected, integrated and collaborative approach to growing young Spiritual Transformational Leaders. Rev Witt reflects on his own journey and implications for moving forward.“Several factors come to mind immediately that had a big impact. I first preached in my local church when I was 16. The Local Church nurtured my gifts and created a culture where youth were called and led. Camp and Retreat immersions had a profound impact on recognizing my unique Spiritual gifts and encouraged me to consider a call to ordained ministry, which changed the direction of my life. Youth Ministry provided me with experiences with youth from other congregations as we were trained and put our learning and Spiritual growth into action. Mentors from the Board of Ordained Ministry provided encouragement and guidance as I pursued this call that God had nudged and confirmed for me. The interplay and interconnections between these experiences it what kept me growing.”
How can we as a Conference develop very intentional pathways that move young people from one leadership experience to another rather than being siloed and separate from one another? The Young Clergy Initiative is a catalyst for creating this kind of collaboration along with new and innovative training and spiritual growth opportunities that don’t yet exist. Stayed tuned for updates throughout the coming year along with invitations to join in as we create new Pathways of Spiritual Leadership together.
