2A
Help UM youth to see where YSF money goes
BY MICHAEL RATLIFF Special Contributor
As a seventh grader, I sat in the sanctuary with the
rest of my 10-member youth group at Waresboro (Ga.) Methodist Church and fi lled out the commitment card to give $1 to the Methodist Youth Fund. I’m not sure I knew the details, but I did know it was a way I could participate in mission giving to projects that would benefi t youth through the Methodist Church. My commitment to give was very
Michael Ratliff
personal and very direct. I understand my counterparts in the EUB (Evangelical United Brethren) tradition were given the same opportunity with the Youth Fund. T e Youth Service Fund (YSF)
was created a year later, in 1968, when
the two funds merged with the formation of the United Methodist Church. T e fund provided an avenue for youth of the new denomination to directly support mission initiatives created by youth, for youth. And since then, the fund has always been contributed to by youth, administered by youth, and supported youth-led, youth- serving projects. A number of years later, as
methods are great fun—and raise signifi cant money— they oſt en also continue the disconnect between raising funds and the intended purpose of YSF. T is year in Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia and in various parts of the U.S., thousands of young people will get a second chance (or a fi rst chance) to experience a new level of sustainable food security, build mentoring relationships with adults, learn about Christ, and fi nd ways to take fi rst steps out of poverty—all because of YSF. You can learn about current and past projects at
globalyoungpeople.org/grants-scholarship/youth-service- fund.
Since 1977, youth of the United Methodist Church
an adult member of the Conference Youth Department in the Florida Conference, I served alongside the youth co-chairs of a conference committee promoting the YSF and making decisions about support of projects with the 70 percent of contributions that remain in the annual conference. By that time, youth groups had moved from personal pledges to fundraisers supporting YSF. Some worked with national YSF vendors to sell Christmas wrap and candles, with a percentage going to Youth Service Fund. In the process, youth who gave to the fund were becoming disconnected from the youth whose lives were changed by the eff ort. Today, I serve in Young People’s Ministries at the
‘…the challenge today is to reconnect youth with the ministry that happens as a result of their personal giving.’
have contributed $14.6 million to YSF! Youth of our denomination and beyond have been involved in changing our world through their giſt s, involvement and commitment to share their faith in tangible ways. T is amazing work has been made possible because hundreds of thousands of youth gave what they could, and the combined eff ort is more than any youth, youth group or conference group could do on their own. But the challenge today is to reconnect youth with the ministry that happens as a result of their personal giving. If you grew up in a
Methodist, EUB or United Methodist church, chances are you contributed to one of the funds mentioned above. And while not everyone gets to bounce their way to the top of a mountain in Zimbabwe to visit a poultry project, consecrate French-language Bibles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or visit young women in a juvenile detention center in the United States, Young People’s Ministries is working on more
ways for today’s youth to give and actually connect with the ministries that result from that giving. Research says that young people want to make a
United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, where responsibility for administration and promotion of YSF is an integral part of what we do. T e majority of funds for YSF are raised at conference events and are oſt en attached to a contest to see what grade can raise the most money, or the expectation of a youth or adult leader doing something crazy to entertain those present. T ough these
diff erence in their world. T e exciting news is that the United Methodist Church has provided that opportunity throughout our entire existence. Join me in celebrating what we’ve accomplished and in challenging our church’s youth to do even more in the future.
T e Rev. Ratliff is associate general secretary of young people’s ministries at the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tenn. T is commentary originally appeared in the Dec. 16 issue of the United Methodist Reporter (
umportal.org); reproduced with permission.
Be sure to recycle your copy of the Arkansas United Methodist when you’re fi nished reading it (or share it with a friend).
Arkansas United Methodist
January 6, 2012
EDITOR’S CORNER BY AMY FORBUS
Accountability and renewal It began with a rude awakening
in mid-November. Shopping for clothes is one of
my least favorite activities, so it works best if I take along a friend. In fact, I have a particular friend with a special giſt for making the chore seem more like a pleasure. So there we were, sharing
potential wardrobe items over the wall dividing our fi tting rooms, when we each discovered we needed pants a size larger than we had expected. Ouch. A few days later, I received a
text message from her: “Drop and give me 20 crunches. I just did it and thought of you.” So began a new wave of
accountability that continues today: Each morning, the fi rst one to complete her calisthenics sends a text to the other, reporting the numbers and varieties of exercises. T e second person matches the activity and texts a response reporting her numbers. Even on weekends and holidays. Now and then, one of us
increases the count by fi ve or 10 repetitions, or adds hand weights to provide a better workout. And again, the other one matches it. To outsiders, it may not look
like much—we certainly won’t be running a marathon any time soon—but we are holding each other accountable, and we can tell it’s making a positive diff erence. In our culture, January has a
reputation for fresh starts. New
year’s resolutions abound, and fi tness centers see a spike in new memberships. We can use January as a time
for a fresh start in our spiritual fi tness, too. “A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition,” No. 607 in the United Methodist Hymnal, provides one such path for renewal. (Note: In older editions of the hymnal, there is a typo in the fi ſt h line of the prayer. T e corrected version appears below and in more recent editions.) I am no longer my own, but
thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank
me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to
suff ering. Let me be employed by thee or
laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me
have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all
things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed
God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou
art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have
made on earth, let it be ratifi ed in heaven. Amen. As United Methodists in
Arkansas, we face a time of change and renewal. May we remember that through it all, we belong to God.
To reach me, send an email to
aforbus@arumc.org.
Volume 158 • No. 036
January 6, 2012
Martha S. Taylor • Director of Communications Amy Forbus • Editor
Patrick W. Shownes • Communications Coordinator
www.arumc.org
T e Arkansas United Methodist is the newspaper of record for the Arkansas Conference of T e United Methodist Church. It is published once monthly, on the fi rst Friday of each month, and four special issues during the year for a total of 16 issues per year.
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