wfn.org | Young Pastors Hold First National Gathering in Six Years

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

2-November-1999 
99376 
 
    Young Pastors Hold First National Gathering in Six Years 
 
    Just 7 percent of PC(USA) pastors are under 40 
 
    by the Rev. Esther Pfeifer 
    and Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
STONY POINT, N.Y.-Just 7 percent of all Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 
ministers are under the age of 40 - not good for a denomination that 
professes to want to reach out to Generation X and the succeeding 
generations of young people on which survival of the church will depend 
into the 21st century. 
 
    On Oct. 4-7, 63 "Seven percenters" gathered here for the first annual 
Young Pastors Gathering, sponsored by the Congregational Ministries 
Division's Office of Youth and Young Adults.  It was the first national 
gathering of young pastors since the General Assembly budget cuts of 1993. 
 
    The dilemma facing these young pastors was captured by Rodger Nishioka, 
coordinator for youth and young adult ministries, who recalled that few of 
the many friends and collegues he knew in this age range who went into 
ministry are still active in the church. 
 
    Nishioka's sobering assessment was reinforced by keynote speaker Tom 
Beaudoin, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School who is currently a 
candidate for the Ph.D. in religion and education at Boston College. 
 
    Beaudoin, a Jesuit and author of "Virtual Faith," spoke of the X 
Generation and how their minds work, as well as how it is they can be 
welcome in church.  X Generation folks, he said, "are interested in 
knowing, in a nutshell, what something is all about." 
 
    To be effective then, "seven percenters" must be able to clearly 
articulate what makes the PC(USA) unique, setting it apart from other 
churches.  "If we cannot answer this question then we 
will not be able to attract new, young faces," he insisted. 
 
    Rich clues were presented in the music of renowned Presbyterian 
singer/songwriter David M. Bailey, a brain cancer survivor who in the three 
years since he was given six months to live has gained a growing audience 
of older and young adults with his songs of faith in God, passion for life 
and hope for the future. 
 
    The second annual Young Pastors Gathering will be held next October at 
a place to be announced. 
 
(The Rev. Esther Pfeifer and her husband, Ron, are "seven percenter" 
co-pastors in Palestine, Ill.) 

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