I recently found a link to the North Alabama Conference Young Clergy Forum from Bishop Willimon’s blog. North Alabama has also organized a Young Clergy Research Team. The Lewis Center for Church Leadership is currently conducting research about young clergy and their ministries. More information about this research and a link to the survey can be found here.
As a young clergy person I am deeply interested in helping young people hear God’s call, enter and continue in ministry. At the present time, I am not aware of a specific effort in Kansas – either the East or West conference to organize / formally support young clergy. Do you know of any other efforts to support young people in full time ministry? Have you found these efforts to be useful?
Rev. Andrew Conard 
8 replies on “Young Clergy”
Andrew,
I don’t know about “formal intiatives” but for the last 3 years I have organized a young clergy gathering at AC–those under 35 for lunch or breakfast just to make sure we know each other’s names and faces.
Nathan Stanton and I have thrown around some ideas about an event highlighting young clergy an/or talking about calling. Wanna help?
You know there used to be a enough “young clergy” for them to have sub-district pot-lucks at each other’s houses. Those days are gone!
Amy – Awesome! Thanks for sharing that information. I would love to be a part of getting young clergy together. Let me know how I can help. Fantasy Baseball anyone?
interesting question.
We do need more discipleship – allowing young people to respond to God’s call on their life -be it to serving Him as a full paid minister or serving as a volunteer …
I like what Amy wrote. Praise God that you do have young clergy – we need them – and we need to give room to them too -and to encourage and mentor them everystep of the way
Hey Andrew- how’s it going? Just wanted to say hi. I was going to say something scandalous in this comment section, but decided against it. For now. 🙂 Hey- here’s something you might find humorous- it’s a blog my brother and I worked on until this last summer. It’s called Strangely Warmed, and was kind of a satire blog on Wesleyanism, although some of it might apply to U. Methodism as well. Anyway, you might get a chuckle out of it.
Here’s the addy: strangely-warmed.blogspot.com
We haven’t updated it in awhile, but I might have to start up again soon. Later
Hey Andrew – thanks for the 7villages love. 😉 I’ll bet you’re getting ready for BOOM interviews, right? Or have they already happened?
Lorna – Thanks for your thoughts and encouragement for young clergy 🙂
deviant monk – great to hear from you my friend. Great to find your blog 🙂 Thanks for sharing strangely-warmed.blogspot.com – good times!
Matt – No worries. I have finished my BOOM interviews and was recommended for probationary membership and commissioning at Annual Conference in 2007 🙂
That is definitely worth a smiley face. Congratulations! Commissioning is a great experience, and I can’t wait for ordination in 2008. I’ve heard from some friends that it is more difficult going through the process as an associate in a large church. Being that you are in a “LARGE” church, have you found that to be true?
Matt – Thanks for the congratulations. You ask an interesting question. I’m not sure if the process is any more difficult as an associate. I have experienced a bit of complication as I am going through the process in the Kansas West Annual Conference while serving in the Kansas East Annual Conference. I lived in and started the process in the west before heading to seminary. After graduation, I was appointed to the East (KS West and East appointive cabinets meet together) and continued the process in the West with the intention to return to the West. My hope is that the conferences will merge, but that is another story…