Better together
New Florence districtwide effort brings together youth in The Connection
By Jessica Brodie
FLORENCE—It’s said so often it’s almost trite: Children are the future.
Yet overlooked in that is a hard reality—these kids are also here, right now. They’re in our congregations, week after week, and they desperately need more of what The United Methodist Church does best: the connection.
That’s precisely the idea behind a new initiative two pastors in the Florence District are spearheading.
Called “The Connection,” the Rev. Carsten A. Bryant and the Rev. Katherine Haselden Crimm, along with the Florence District’s Methodist Youth Fellowship Cooperative, are bringing together sixth through 12th graders for fun, food and faith one Sunday afternoon each month.
The location rotates around the district—the February gathering was at Wesley Chapel UMC, Lake City, and March’s is at Bethel UMC, Kingstree.
Crimm said seeing the clergy and lay leadership from the district show up with their young people, lead devotion, join in on trivia or play games like milk-jug lacrosse has been like a balm in Gilead.
“Every Sunday churches around the world pray ‘let your kingdom come’ as they gather in worship. Once a month on a Sunday afternoon we see a glimpse of that kingdom in the Florence District,” said Crimm, who pastors Highland Park UMC, Florence. “Watching our young people, Black and White, come together to worship, fellowship and play leaves me overflowing with joy every single time we gather.”
Easier when we work together
The Connection got its start last spring, after Bryant and Crimm participated in a meeting led by the Rev. Maggie Cantey on her work in multichurch, multiracial cooperative youth ministry in the Spartanburg area as well as an analogous experiment in Rock Hill. Inspired, the two hoped to create something similar in the Florence District.
Last fall, Bryant—who pastors Lake City UMC, Lake City—applied for and received a Hope Grant to experiment with The Connection. They kicked off their efforts in August with monthly gatherings throughout the fall.
The gatherings start with games, followed by a free dinner and a short service of music, word and prayer, adapted from the United Methodist Hymnal’s “Order for Evening Praise and Prayer.”
Bryant said it’s been a success, and the youth seem to genuinely enjoy coming together.
“Youth ministry is more fun for the young people when there’s more of them and is easier for clergy and laity to do when we work together,” Bryant said.
Cultivating ‘holy ground’
Attendance has been strong. Their first gathering brought together 57 participants, and one month their attendance neared 90.
Crimm said the gatherings have been heartening, not only because of the chance to see God moving in the hearts of young people, but because it’s been evident God’s people so desperately need this sort of large-group time together.
“For a people who claim connection, it seems we really did lose grip of one another for a while, Crimm said. “We retreated into ourselves and forgot that God made us to be a part of one body. That one body is called to grow together, to work together, to be nourished together, to enjoy this life in Christ together.
“When we see these young people linked arm in arm as they sing out during our worship, or watch them beeline to that friend they have made from the church across the district, I feel affirmed we are planting seeds and cultivating holy ground.”
Bryant agrees.
“Your church’s youth and kids are not just ‘the church of the future,’” he said. “They’re part of your church right now.”
Florence District Superintendent the Rev. Terry Fleming said he’s enthusiastic about the fruit this new ministry can bear.
“The best, most effective ideas always seem to rise up from the local level,” Fleming said. “A small group of pastors in the Florence District recognized a way to reach youth from the variety of congregations in the Florence District.
“For many of the youth and leaders, this is their first time to experience the joy, strength and blessing found in our connection.”
Florence youth will gather next March 23 at Bethel UMC, Kingstree, and April 13 at Cumberland UMC, Florence, from 4-6 p.m. For more information, reach out to Bryant at [email protected], Crimm at [email protected] or the Florence District at [email protected].