United Methodists Attracting Young Adults to Religion with a Back-to-basics Approach

- "Rethink Church" campaign provides skeptical generation with new ways to practice faith

- "Bringing a first-century approach to Christianity in the 21st century" returns the church to the center of the community

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In 2009, The United Methodist Church decided that a new approach was needed if they were going to remain relevant to future generations and launched its "Rethink Church" campaign. Less than three years later, the results of those efforts may offer a glimpse at what the church of the future will look like.

• In Western North Carolina, 14,600 volunteers – many non-United Methodists – served 620,000 people in their communities through 320 local service events.
• In Western Michigan, 325 volunteers – half from outside the church – served hot meals, distributed clothes and toys for homeless and needy children.
• In Topeka, Kansas, nearly 1,000 volunteers – over 200 non-members – participated in a community cleanup program.
• In El Paso, Texas, volunteers – 82% from outside the church – delivered 16 tons of food to 1,200 people and provided health screenings to 400. 

Worldwide, more than 300,000 volunteers were mobilized to serve more than 5 million people for "Rethink Church" programs over the past two years. More than 40 percent of volunteers were not affiliated with any church.  This May, up to 400,000 volunteers are expected to participate in programs in 16 countries.

The "Rethink Church" campaign was designed to reach young adults who may not be familiar with church, want to make their lives more meaningful, and have a deep yearning to connect with God and with a community of support.

It was launched after research conducted by The Barna Group and the Pew Research Center showed that  America's young adults increasingly consider themselves spiritual, but at the same time are increasingly dissatisfied with traditional approaches to religion and are the least overtly religious generation of modern times. 

"The recent news coverage of high profile celebrities and athletes who have been very vocal about their faith reflects exactly what we are seeing around the world," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications. "Religion is important to 18 to 34 year olds, but they do not want to worship in a passive way. It's about providing an avenue for them to find meaning in their lives and providing a way for them to re-engage with the church on their own terms."

Recently released research shows that the approach taken by The United Methodist Church is working.

Hollon explained that the success is not just a matter of providing social activities as has been common practice among all religions for decades. It's a return to a grassroots approach of making the church the center of the community.

"It's as if we are bringing a first-century approach to the 21st century," said Hollon. "This generation wants to have an impact. What we have done is provide an entry point for those who are skeptical, uninformed or have had a negative experience with organized religion. Our goal is to make the church their epicenter and show them that a spiritual life can have a significant impact on their community and themselves."

The results of this new approach, he said, says a lot about the church of tomorrow.

"Not only does our research show that this approach is re-engaging those young adults we reach, but it has also re-energized The United Methodist Church community overall," said Hollon. "This evolution to an active approach to religion rather than a passive approach is changing the way young Americans think about their faith and the role that traditional religions will be asked to play in the future." 

More information is available at www.rethinkchurch.org

Media Contact: Diane Degnan
[email protected]
(615) 742-5406 (office)
(615) 483-1765 (cell)

SOURCE United Methodist Communications