Close Up: Church assesses implications of aging membership
5/1/2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.
NOTE: "Close Up" is a regular UMNS and UMC.org feature on current issues. Photographs are available.
A UMNS and UMC.org Feature
By Amy Green*
Longtime
member Doris Jones worships at First United Methodist Church in
Superior, Neb. Years ago, the church was a vibrant place of worship,
with more than 500 members. Its size now nearly half of what it was, the
church is increasingly struggling to meet its bills, the Rev. Dorthea
Fairbanks says. A UMNS photo by Rick L. Houchin. Photo number 03-155,
Accompanies UMNS #252, 5/1/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Worshippers
file out of First United Methodist Church in Superior, Neb., following
Sunday services. The congregation is not unlike many within the United
Methodist Church. With an average age of 57, the denomination s members
are among the oldest of any in the United States - and that has
congregations across the country rethinking their futures, since the
elderly often are their most active and generous members. A UMNS photo
by Rick L. Houchin. Photo number 03-156, Accompanies UMNS #252, 5/1/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
A
mix of young and old gather for worship at First United Methodist
Church in Superior, Neb. As manufacturing jobs began to disappear from
this close-knit, rural community in the state s southern half, so did
new residents who could keep the congregation growing. A UMNS photo by
Rick L. Houchin. Photo number 03-157, Accompanies UMNS #252, 5/1/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Tanner
Kranjek (left) and Kelcey Knoell wait their turn for scripture readings
as the confirmation class participates in Sunday services at First
United Methodist Church in Superior, Neb. Years ago, the church was a
vibrant place of worship, with more than 500 members. Its size now
nearly half of what it was, the church is increasingly struggling to
meet its bills, the Rev. Dorthea Fairbanks says. A UMNS photo by Rick L.
Houchin. Photo number 03-158, Accompanies UMNS #252, 5/1/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Years ago, First United Methodist Church in
Superior, Neb., was a vibrant place of worship, with more than 500
members. Some have remained there for 50 years.
But as
manufacturing jobs disappeared from this close-knit, rural community in
the state's southern half, so did new residents who could keep the
congregation growing. The congregation became older, and contributions
decreased. Its size now nearly half of what it was, the church is
increasingly struggling to meet its bills, the Rev. Dorthea Fairbanks
says.
"We were a very active church," she says. "Now, [members
have] lost their spouses, or because of health reasons (being active is)
not possible. And what I see with the younger people is they're so busy
with school and other things, the church kind of takes a back seat."
The
congregation is not unlike many within the United Methodist Church in
the United States. With an average age of 57, the church's members are
among the oldest of any U.S. Christian denomination. As younger people
leave and older members die, this attrition decreases the church's
membership and financial bases. The trend is a reflection of the
nation's aging population, and nearly all denominations are experiencing
it, especially mainline Protestant traditions such as the United
Methodist Church.
"The future of the United Methodist Church
really rests in the hands of older adults," says the Rev. Richard
Gentzler, director of the denomination's Center on Aging and Older Adult
Ministries in Nashville, Tenn. "Many churches have a majority of folks
who are 60-plus."
Those adults account for many of the
denomination's pastors and bishops as well as members turning out for
worship services and church activities. They also account for much of
the contributions each year.
Meanwhile, the denomination's U.S.
membership has declined gradually to 8.3 million people in 2000,
according to the most recent figures available. However, worship
attendance has remained the same-or, in some regions,
increased--implying that younger generations are in the pews but may be
reluctant to join.
Their fast-paced lifestyles have made family
time a priority, says Craig This, director of the Office of Research and
Planning at the church's General Council on Ministries in Dayton, Ohio.
He says many congregations have done a poor job at incorporating that
idea into their activities and points to the growing Mormon church's
emphasis on family.
Keeping up with change
In Albuquerque,
N.M., few members of the 1,100-member First United Methodist Church had
been reaching out to the community in recent years, business manager
Terry Shoemaker says, and she believes it has been the same throughout
the denomination.
"As people's lifestyles changed, the United
Methodist Church was not changing along with them," she says. "We're
starting to feel the effects of that."
The congregation has since
made a variety of changes. It has organized several small groups, from a
Bible study group to a dinner group, and has put more emphasis on the
family. For example, teen members spend evenings baby-sitting at the
church to allow mothers and fathers a night out. In December, families
were invited to the church to wrap Christmas presents together.
The
idea is to get members to church throughout the week, not just on
Sundays, Shoemaker says. The congregation still is an older one but now
is drawing more young families, and Shoemaker is optimistic about its
future.
Other congregations have not been as lucky. Trinity
United Methodist Church in Dayton closed in December, just three months
shy of its 100th anniversary. With no youth groups or new baptisms, the
church of about 20 mostly retired members was struggling financially and
had virtually no hope for recovery. Members had planned to celebrate
their church's centennial with a catered dinner. Instead, they marked
the church's end.
"The kids grow up and move away," laments the
Rev. Bob Warner, who served as the church's interim pastor just before
it closed. "What is it that has taken that generation away from us? Why
are they going somewhere else?"
Mainstream Protestant
denominations grew quickly after World War II, investing in social
justice and other issues, says James Hudnut-Beumler, dean of Vanderbilt
University Divinity School in Nashville. But evangelical denominations
invested in new churches in burgeoning neighborhoods, drawing young
residents with less-formal services and contemporary music.
Those
churches flourished, while many Presbyterian, Episcopalian and
Disciples of Christ congregations, like those of the United Methodists',
grew older, he says. Still, he believes there are ways to rejuvenate
mainline denominations. He feels their diversity and tolerance will
appeal to younger generations and he urges congregations to be
innovative with worship services.
"Theologically, we're more
geared toward accepting, 'live and let live' and following a Jesus who
will not throw stones," says Hudnut-Beumler, who is Presbyterian. "Our
churches ought to be turning that to their advantage."
But
without activities throughout the week to keep younger generations
involved, they likely will move on, This says. For congregations without
the resources, he suggests opening the building during the week for
Scouting or Kiwanis Club gatherings.
Encouraging signs
At
the 1,600-member Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, leaders
have worked to give teens and young adults a special place in the
congregation, whether it's in a leadership position or as a community
service volunteer.
Teens serve on every committee in the church,
and some are paired with adults who work with them as mentors. Two
mission trips are planned each year for teens and young adults. The
church also sends its college students care packages of tea, noodles and
other goodies, and some students are pen pals with church members while
away from home. When students return for Thanksgiving and Christmas,
the church holds a special gathering for them so they can catch up with
their hometown friends.
Jim Strickland, minister of church
programs at Belmont, credits these efforts for the congregation's
surging growth in this age group.
More churches are beginning to
realize the importance of these efforts, says the Rev. Craig Kennet
Miller, director of the denomination's Center for Evangelism through New
Congregational Development. But more importantly, they're beginning to
structure their youth ministries not around pizza parties but around
lessons on the Bible and prayer - lessons that will keep them interested
in church throughout their lives, he says.
"Yes, we do see that
there is a graying of the whole denomination, but through the efforts of
local churches, I think we're seeing a greater emphasis on reaching
children and youth than we had maybe 10 to 15 years ago," he says.
United
Methodist Church leaders - like all clergy - are encouraged by a new
interest in worship among teens and young adults. Dubbed "millennials,"
this generation appears to favor the more ordered traditions of Roman
Catholic and evangelical ministries, but that has not discouraged United
Methodist leaders in recent years from organizing seminars to help
congregations reach out to these young people.
In 1996, the
denomination also created its Shared Mission Focus on Young People
initiative to develop a strategy for rejuvenating the church. Composed
mostly of youth and young adults, the initiative's work includes
awarding $15,000 grants to congregations with innovative youth
ministries. The Shared Mission Focus fills a void in the church, says
Ciona Rouse, the initiative's communications and projects coordinator.
"After
college, there's nothing really targeting young people," says Rouse,
23, who has struggled to find a church to fit her. "Young adults just
kind of get lost."
The denomination has invested nearly $20
million for a four-year period in its biggest-ever marketing campaign,
Igniting Ministry, with ads airing nationally since fall 2001 on NBC,
CBS and 18 cable networks. Church attendance grew 22 percent during the
campaign's first year, in part because of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. But the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, the campaign's executive
director at United Methodist Communications, credits the ads for
attracting back to church many people who hadn't attended in some time.
And
denomination leaders look with optimism at the church's growth among
younger generations elsewhere in the world, primarily in Africa, Europe
and parts of Latin America. The growth reflects the younger populations
in these parts of the world, and denomination leaders welcomed pastors
from Brazil to start Portuguese-language churches in New Jersey and
Massachusetts, says the Rev. John Nuessle, executive secretary of
conference relations for the denomination's Board of Global Ministries
in New York.
Many of these efforts already may be taking effect. A
massive gathering for youth, organized every four years by the United
Methodist Board of Discipleship and the United Methodist Youth
Organization, drew 9,000 to Knoxville, Tenn., in 1999, and organizers
are planning for 12,000 this July.
While focusing on drawing
young people, church leaders also note the gifts that elderly members
bring, such as life lessons that can be shared with younger worshippers.
"Generation
after generation, a group of new older people emerges who have raised
their children and accomplished what they've wanted to accomplish in
this world, and they turn their attention to, 'What can I give back?'"
Hudnut-Beumler says. "That giving-back spirit has kept churches alive
for decades."
Fairbanks is equally optimistic for her
congregation's future in Superior. The church has made changes to lure
new families, and she expects more changes will come. She has faith in
her members' ideas for the church's future and their devotion.
"I
really feel the church will be where the Lord wants it to be," she
says. "It may not be the same as it was 10, 15, 20 years ago. ... (But)
if we stay the same, we're not growing."
# # # *Green is a freelance writer living in Nashville, Tenn.
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