| Young Adult Division proposed for denomination In a move to build greater connections between youth and young adult ministries throughout the connection, the General Board of Discipleship, meeting March 1115, affirmed a proposal to create a new division on ministries with young people. The new division would replace the shared mission focus and the United Methodist Youth Organization and would bring their responsibilities under the auspices of the Board of Discipleship. The board intends to bring a resolution to the 2004 General Conference. Drew Dyson, director of the mission focus, said the current structure has led to a situation where there is little knowledge of what the full church offers through the denominational boards and agencies. He says the new division would be a gateway through which local churches and conferences would be connected with the various offerings of the general agencies. Currently, the mission focus membership includes resource persons from the four program agencies. Andrew Schleicher Newscope | Councils recommend young adult staff position BY LINDA WORTHINGTON UMCONNECTION STAFF A recommendation to create a salaried position of young adult ministries coordinator for the Baltimore-Washington Conference raised concerns but was approved by the Council on Ministries at its March 25 meeting. Members generally agreed with the need for such a position. There is an alarming absence of young adults, ages 18-30 years, across the church, said the Rev. Victor Sawyer, chairman of the conference Committee on Higher Education and Campus Ministry. Nearly 90 percent of United Methodist worship attendees are over the age of 30, he said. The responsibilities of the conference young adult ministries coordinator would be to provide education and training on how to evangelize and nurture young adults. The council approved the recommendation in principle and sent it for final action to the Council on Human Resource Development, which approved it unanimously when it met two days later. Actions and recommendations approved by the two conference councils in March will be presented at the four regional pre-annual conference briefings, April 26 and May 17. Because of mold contamination, the conference center has been relocated into a smaller, temporary facility with only one small meeting room, prompting many conference boards and committees to meet elsewhere in nearby churches. The Council on Ministries, however, met in a common area of the temporary offices, next to a kitchen.  I wanted people to know the conditions were working under, said the Rev. Donald Stewart, council director.
CCOM members borrowed 45 chairs from surrounding offices and crowded them into the open space, creating an informality that may explain why business was conducted with little debate or discussion. The group approved nearly a dozen recommendations in the two-hour meeting, most of them by consensus. In one of the few votes taken at the meeting, members empowered the executive committee to reduce by 3.6 percent the councils proposed 2004 budget, which was presented with a 7.6 percent increase over 2003. The action was taken to conform to the 2002 annual conference mandate that budget increases be no more than 4 percent. Other council recommendations include asking the annual conference to: - Require all churches to submit strategic plans for
 evangelization to their charge conferences and to be held accountable for implementing them. This plan was presented by Mildred Franklin, the chairwoman of the Board of Evangelization. - Petition the Northeastern Jurisdiction and General Conference to extend their program support and services for deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing and deaf-blind people.
- Require recipients of the conference-wide survey questionnaire from the conference Commission on the Status and Role of Women to complete and return the survey form in a timely manner.
- Provide resources needed to create four new faith communities each year and to support the capital fundraising ministry of the new Stewardship Center and Foundation.
- Ask churches to observe Mission Sunday annually and to establish covenant relationships with General Board of Global Ministries missionaries.
Richard Campbell, a member of the Maryland Bible Society, said that the society had given thousands of Bibles to the Saving Stations last summer and to the ROCK 2003 event, either free of charge or at greatly discounted rates. He said the society had not received acknowledgement or thanks from the conference. The council, through its director, will send a letter of appreciation. Erik Alsgaard contributed to this story |
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