Dear Friends,

We read much about the shortage of ordained clergy, especially young clergy, in the United Methodist Church.  The Lewis Center for Church Leadership study on Clergy Age Trends reports that the number of young ordained clergy has declined significantly in the last 25 years.  Many identify our current ordained clergy shortage as the most important crisis facing the church.  Even in vibrant North Georgia Conference, we are ordaining fewer people, and the average age of the persons we ordain each year is about 42 years old.

The good news is that our conference began addressing the problem several years ago, and we are effectively working to reverse the trends. We had 53 candidates for commissioning this year!  The Board of Ordained Ministry has been investing great effort and resources into nurturing a sense of call to ordained ministry in the church, especially among youth and young adults.

On the conference level, we host two retreats on a regular basis for people who wish to explore a call to ordained ministry.  A Call from God (November 2-4, 2007) is weekend retreat for persons age 21 and up, and Is God Calling Me? (February 8-10, 2008) is a retreat for high school juniors through age 20. In addition, our conference provides scholarships and transportation for persons attending the national Exploration event for youth considering ordained ministry as a vocation.

Conference programs work only with the support of the local church.   Research shows that the most effective way to attract people to ordained ministry is to create a culture of call within local congregations. This year we are providing you with this resource packet to help you cultivate a culture of call within your congregation.

There are many ideas included in this packet.  The more of these ideas you implement, the more effective your efforts will be.  At a minimum, the Board of Ordained Ministry encourages your church to do three things to cultivate the culture of call.

•  Host a Call Sunday during worship one Sunday in September
• Promote the A Call from God retreat for persons ages 21 and up who are considering ordained ministry as a vocation.
• Promote the Is God Calling Me?  retreat for youth – high school seniors through age 20 – who are considering ordained ministry as a vocation.

The local church is the key to fostering a sense of call to ordained ministry, and you are the leaders of the local church.  We know that when leaders make call to ordained ministry a priority in their churches, God blesses their efforts.  We see the results.  People hear and heed the call.  Lives change.  You will be glad that you were a part of this great work of God in North Georgia.

In Christ,

 
Glenn Ethridge
BOM Recruitment Committee