wfn.org | Youth, Today's Church

[umethnews-request@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (2998 notes).

Note 2993 by UMNS on June 6, 1996 at 16:27 Eastern (3815 characters).

SEARCH: youth, CCYM, Conference Council on Youth Ministry, Rankin,
teen-agers

  UMNS stories may be accessed on the Internet World Wide Web at:
                   http://www.umc.org/umns.html
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                              279(10-71){2993}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470              June 6, 1996

Youth are the church
of today, not tomorrow

                 by United Methodist News Service*

     Youth should be seen as the church of today and not tomorrow!
That is the message of Sam Rankin.
     In a recent interview, the new chairman of the Baltimore-
Washington Conference Council on Youth Ministries, said he intends
to see that youth are included in United Methodist churches
locally and worldwide.
     "Our youth often are seen as the church of tomorrow," Rankin
said. "That's a nice, but dangerous sentiment. It allows us to
exclude them from the church of today." 
     He said, too often youth are brought out to be a spectacle in
a once-a-year youth service. "We give lip service to them. But how
is our ministry reflected in our budgeting, our leadership and the
respect we give to their issues?"
     Rankin is convinced the church could learn a great deal from
the youth, who in their interactions model a vibrant faith.
     "Adults tend to view kids as frivolous or nice," he said,
"but these kids are really listening. In a discussion of issues,
they cut to the chase. They are not bogged down with years of
church politics. They see points clearer. If we would just listen,
it would be helpful."
     Youth also are more eager to reach out to each other and the
world in Christian love, said Rankin. "Why is it as we grow older,
we can't love our neighbors as easily? We put walls up to protect
ourselves from the outside world. Those walls don't allow others
in to become a part of who you are."
     In the youth culture, there are far fewer walls, he said.
     Working as youth leader on both the local church and
conference level, Rankin is convinced that young people within the
church "want to be part of something significant." The role of the
church, he said, "is to accept them, affirm them as who they are
and encourage them to be more."
     Rankin grew up the son of a Roman Catholic father and a
United Methodist mother, attending mass and believing himself to
be a Roman Catholic. When he was 12, his father died and his
mother, sensing a strong need for God in her life, became an
active member of Faith United Methodist Church, Rockville, Md.
     He followed her to church, but was not confirmed because he
thought it would somehow be disrespectful to his father.
     As a teen-ager, he became involved in the Conference Council
on Youth Ministries (CCYM). When he was 17, Rankin decided it was
time to be confirmed.
     "It was a special day," he said. "Everyone had both parents
and a bunch of grandparents with them. All I had was my mother to
stand up with me." But when he arrived at the service, he found 10
people from the conference youth council there, willing to be his
family for the morning.
     As a youth leader, Rankin envisions more mission
opportunities being offered for youth and a greater sense of
connectionalism  being developed. He wants "to enable the youth to
control their own destinies," and "not be a marginalized group on
the sidelines of our church" but "empowered to be the church of
today."
                              #  #  #

     * Information for this story came from an article by Melissa
Lauber, staff writer for the United Methodist Connection,
newspaper of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference. 
     

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 To make suggestions or give your comments, send a note to 
 umns@ecunet.org or Susan_Peek@ecunet.org

 To unsubscribe, send the single word "unsubscribe" (no quotes)
 in a mail message to umethnews-request@ecunet.org

-----------------------------------------------------------------------