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ThE WEsT ViRGinia UniTED METhODisT •
www.wvumc.org A Gen-X
Church Journey W
By Rev. Amanda Gayle Reed, Special Contributor
hen I was 19, I leſt the church. My college course load was heavy, and I was juggling a full-time job. Sleep was a priority – and besides, my church at-
tendance didn’t seem important to anyone except my parents. I never stopped believing in God, Christ, or identifying myself
as a Christian. But my walk was my walk, and I just did not see how the church was a part of it. Te world did not stop turning because I turned the alarm
clock off on Sunday mornings, and besides, no one even seemed to notice I was gone. No one called to ask where I had been, the pastor never stopped by for a visit, and when I occasionally bumped into a fellow church member there was no hint given that I was missed or should rush back. So, I just stopped going. Rev. Drew Dyson’s presentation, Emerging Adults, during
Clergy School in September took me back to my feelings as a 19-year-old about the church. Some of the statistics he pre- sented seemed to distress many of my older colleagues, but for me it was good to hear the plain truth. According to Dyson, 75% of young adults (aged 18 to 25) leave
the church; only 40% return before they turn 35. We don’t need statistics to tell us the church has a problem
reaching and retaining young people – they are missing from our pews every Sunday. It’s a problem our aging congregations, clergy, and general denomination have been trying to solve for years. Perhaps a better understanding of changes in life stages can
help the church reach young people. Dr. Dyson talked about emerging adulthood, a stage of life between youth and young adulthood. It is a time of identity making, of searching for meaning and purpose. It’s not an extension of adolescence, so programs that
center on high-school students are too juvenile. Programs for young adults aren’t right either, because they don’t ac- count for the developments of the emerging adult. One of our questions as a body of Christ would be to ask what is it emerging adults need? We should work hard to hear the needs and concerns of emerging adults, and do our best not to judge them as critical or immature. Te good news is the young adults are not immune to spiri-
tuality. Tey have not abandoned God – and we know God has not abandoned them! Tey are open to new experiences; searching for a place to belong. Tey want a genuine, welcom- ing community to be a part of their lives, so that they might live with more purpose. A meaningful community with purpose – isn’t that what the
church is? When young people understand the God they wor- ship on Sunday is the same God that sits with them at Starbucks and walks with them on the highway picking up litter, they see a deeper purpose in their lives and in the church. I spent 5 years away from the church, struggling to find my
place in the world. I knew God had something deep and mean- ingful for me. I’m 33 now, a Gen-X clergywoman - and one of the youngest people in my church. I’ve discovered the mean- ing and purpose God has for me. I hope the church will make room for the emerging adults who want to join us.
PhOTO By aDaM CUnninGhaM
Rev. amanda Gayle Reed serves first and Court street United Methodist Churches in Welch.
A youth takes aim with a bow and arrow in October. Center Shot is a ministry at Beckley Temple United Methodist that teaches youth to keep God at the center of their lives.
LaURa aLLEn
Clergy School, held every year at Cedar Lakes near Ripley, is a chance for pastors to connect and renew. Dr. Drew Dyson and Rev. Jim Walker were two of this year’s featured speakers.
CLERGY SCHOOL 2010
DECEMBER 2010
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