Networks and Communities
United Methodist Young Adult Resources
Epworth League: A United Methodist Association for Young Adults
The Epworth League is a new United Methodist association for young adults, aged 18 to 35. It consists of both a global organization as well as local church based chapters.
The global organization provides support and services to churches and individuals trying to start or grow young adult ministry programs within their church. If you are interested in starting a Young Adult group but don’t know where to start. Contact us, we can help you.
You also follow the Epworth League on Twitter or Facebook.
On Fire
A group of young people within the United Methodist Church giving voice to progressive members of our generation with focused efforts on three program areas: Influencing Church and Theology, Inclusivity and Equality, and Economic Justice and Human Rights.
General Board of Global Ministries Youth and Young Adults Corner
The General Board of Global Ministries resources and connects young people as they live out mission in their communities and around the world.
Through mission opportunities, advocacy, training, leadership development, mission education and administration of funds, young leaders and young people's organizations are supported as they transform individuals, communities and systems to begin promoting health, wholeness, spiritual well-being and the fullness of life in Christ.
Young Adult Seminarians Network
YASN is a network of United Methodist seminarians ages 35 and under and those concerned with the issues of those 35 and under.
College Union
A New Community For Campus Ministers: College Union, a community of United Methodists in Campus Ministry, has launched a new web journal and resource place designed "by people involved in campus ministry, for people in campus ministry." The website is designed for "best practices" in campus ministry. Areas of interest and resources include: small groups, missions, worship, virtues and choices, student leadership, spiritual formation, staff development, emerging trends, videos and chat rooms. The College Union Online Community is sponsored by The Foundation for Evangelism, an affiliate of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church.
Local United Methodist Young Adult Networks
Grace 2 Live - Southwest Texas Young Adult Network
Grace2live.org is sponsored by the Council on Youth Adult Ministries of the Southwest Texas Conference of the UMC. It is intended to help congregations be aware and reach out with grace to young adults in their communities and congregations. Raising up a new generation of leaders, both clergy and lay, is just what Grace2live.org is all about. Come visit us!
Oklahoma Young Adult Council
The Young Adult Council
falls under the umbrella of the Oklahoma Discipleship Ministry Team. Membership is made up of young adults age nineteen to thirty, who are members of the United Methodist Church. It represents the diversity of young adults including college students, working persons, single, and married.
Young Adult Caucus of the West Michigan Annual Conference
The goal of this group is to get more young people excited about Annual Conference by planning cool events (mostly in the evenings) and make sure Young Adults have a greater impact when they get there. Visit the group on Facebook for more information.
Young Adult Ministry of the Hawaii District
The Hawaii District Young Adult ministry holds events and conferences for Young Adults throughout the year. Visit the website for more information on upcoming events.
BIDYART - Young Adult Ministry for Northern Virginia
The purpose of the BIDYART is to meet monthly in order to create a time for friendship and community outreach projects for young adults throughout the Northern Virginia area.
Young Adults and the Armed Services
This section on the YA Network will focus on providing support and ministry opportunities for young adult soldiers and their families. This is a joint project between the Division on Ministries with Young People staff on Young Adult Ministries as well as the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry's United Methodist Endorsing Agency staff. We welcome your comments, suggestions and input on how to make this section address the needs you have.
Ministry Examples
Navyformoms.com
For mothers of kids in the U.S. Navy and for moms who have questions about Navy life for their kids.
Beyond the Yellow Ribbon
An initiative to empower leadership, service members and families by providing relevant training, services, and resources throughout the deployment cycle.
A website to locate soldiers in need of care packages
Helpful Links
United Methodist Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors
This is the official United Methodist website for information on becoming an endorsed United Methodist chaplain or pastoral counselor, as well as information for congregations with members in the military.
This page, from the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church, offers a number of articles, books, and other resources to help congregations minister to people in the military.
The Soul of War
With Iraq veteran and chaplain Major John Morris, we explore how war challenges the human spirit and the core tenets of a life of faith.
Video "Soldiers Battling Depression"
Today's Military
A website for parents who are enrolling their children in the armed services
A website focused on meeting the unique medical needs of troops returning from overseas deployments.
Helpful Resources
Email Correspondence
Two military chaplains have agreed to speak to any young adults or adult workers who may need it. You can reach either Major James Lewis, or Major Karen Meeker by email by clicking on their names.
Other Great Networks
Environmental Stewardship
Hope and Action
God’s Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action is a message of justice and social action. It is a new network of people of faith and good will linking together to share ideas, challenges and successes in tackling an interconnected trio of threats to God’s good Creation:
- Pandemic poverty and disease;
- Environmental degradation, and the
- Proliferation of violence and weapons.
HopeandAction.org is a place to connect, share ideas and stories, and get the latest alerts for action in national and international policy arenas. What will be your actions for sustainability, stewardship, sufficiency, and justice?
Renewal
Renewal is a Christ-centered creation care network that focuses on living in right relationship with God. As followers of Christ, we seek to follow His example of love, stewardship, and reconciliation. For us, this means taking care of everything that God so lovingly created- the earth and each other. With a heart for the poor and a commitment to following Jesus' call to 'love your neighbor as yourself,' the students of Renewal seek to care for the earth so that all of God's people and creatures, as well as future generations, can have a healthy environment in which to live.
National Council of Churches - Eco-Justice Program
The Eco-Justice Program office of the National Council of Churches works in cooperation with the NCC Eco-Justice Working Group to provide an opportunity for the national bodies of member Protestant and Orthodox denominations to work together to protect and restore God's Creation.
Women's Networks
Step Up Women's Network
A national network of women dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls.
Fidelia's Sisters
Fidelia's Sisters is an online publication by, for, and about young clergy women, with new material appearing on a rotating schedule over the course of a month. We publish short stories, visual art, poetry, liturgical resources, personal essays, reflections, interviews, book reviews, and more. We strive to be a space where some of the professional and personal issues that young clergy women face are addressed with honesty, all the while recognizing that no one "kind" of young clergy woman has a monopoly on who young clergy women are.
The Welcome Center
The Online Community of United Methodist Women!
The Welcome Center's goal is to provide for all members an environment to connect and share with others regardless of time and geographic restrictions. This on-line community will create new opportunities for participation in the organization, and provide an interactive platform for engagement in mission.
Community Service Opportunities
Mocha Club
Mocha Club is about connecting your community with our community in Africa. You start by giving up $7 a month, the cost of 2 mochas. And you get to pick where that money is going. We have many different ongoing projects around Africa - pick the one that YOU love. Then start your team so you can invite others to join you in making a difference!
Interfaith Networks
Interfaith Youth Core
There are millions of religious young people in the world interacting with greater frequency. That interaction tends either toward conflict or cooperation. Where so many of these interactions tend towards conflict, the Interfaith Youth Core aims to introduce a new relationship, one that is about mutual respect and religious pluralism. Instead of focusing a dialogue on political or theological differences, we build relationships on the values that we share, such as hospitality and caring for the Earth, and how we can live out those values together to contribute to the betterment of our community.
The Interfaith Youth Core is creating these relationships across the world by inspiring, networking, and resourcing young people, who are the leaders of this movement. Their website offers a number of ways to get involved through events, a newsletter, and other activities.
Bridge Builders
Bridge Builders is an online community sponsored by the Interfaith Youth Core. On this website, people can interact with other leaders of the Bridge-Builders movement and consult resources for use in your campus or in your community.