Have questions? Need resources?
Do you have questions about any of these resources, or need further information? Contact Rev. Elizabeth Hurd, chair of the Board of Young People’s Ministries, at [email protected] or Lisa Batten, Connectional Ministries Team staff member, at [email protected].
“If we are genuinely concerned about engaging young people, particularly those that are vulnerable or at risk, we must listen to them properly.”
-Libby Brooks
Welcome
Ministry with young adults in the Michigan Conference includes a variety of short-term summer internships and post-graduate programs, campus ministries, and resources for local churches that want to reach young adults.
Young Adult Programs in Michigan and Beyond
- The Michigan Conference’s Connexion Young Adult Summer Intern program gives young adults aged 18-27 relevant ministry experience learning and serving in a local United Methodist congregation, nonprofit, or campus ministry. This is an 8-week internship. Weekly small peer group meetings will give them connection as they discern their call as laity, deacon, elder, or another form of professional ministry. Intern applications are due May 1, 2024. Click to learn more and apply.
- The Michigan Conference’s Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools program is an intergenerational leadership model staffed primarily by college students and recent college graduates, with a 10:1 child-to-adult ratio. Rooted in the Mississippi Freedom Summer project of 1964, the CDF Freedom Schools program is a six-week summer literacy and cultural enrichment program designed to serve children and youth in grades K–12 in communities where quality academic enrichment programming is limited, too expensive, or non-existent. The CDF Freedom Schools program enhances children’s motivation to read and makes them feel good about learning. The Michigan Conference currently operates two sites in Detroit — Second Grace and Conant Ave UMCs — and two in Flint — Bethel and Calvary UMCs. Young adults interested in applying to be a summer intern should contact Lisa Batten at [email protected].
- Discover … Mission is the young adult short-term mission program of United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM), a grassroots movement of United Methodists seeking to put their Christian love into action worldwide. Click to learn more.
- The Global Mission Fellows program of The United Methodist Church places young adults aged 20-30 in social justice ministries for two years of service in either international or U.S. settings. Fellows address deep-rooted systems of injustice, working in a variety of areas, including food insecurity, migration/immigration, education, and poverty. Click to learn more.
Young Adult Resources
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- MIUMC Young Adult Ministry Facebook Page, Connect with other young adults in the Michigan Conference of The United Methodist Church, and view posts regarding all things young adults in the Michigan Conference.
- Scholarships
- United Methodist Higher Education Foundation (UMHEF) awards $2+ million yearly to students attending UM-related schools. Click to learn more.
- General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) offers a range of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students. Click to learn more.
- The United Methodist Foundation of Michigan supports several scholarship programs for college, university, and seminary students. Click to learn more.
- Metropolitan UMC in Detroit offers Centennial Scholarships to help full-time students attend college, university, or graduate school. The scholarship amount varies yearly, but recent recipients received $2,000 each. All students who are active members of a United Methodist church are eligible to apply. Students can reapply each year if they continue a full-time schedule. Click this link to learn more.
Local Church Resources
- Churches or ministry sites wanting to host a summer intern through the Connexion Young Adult Summer Intern program should identify a young person in their congregation with the gifts and graces for ministry and then complete this application.
- The Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry is an annual gathering of people in the church, the academy, and the world who are committed to cultivating and caring for the Christian faith of young people. Designed around a theme that inspires the conversation and content each year, the forum is a place where people of all demographic and denominational backgrounds come together to learn from and encourage one another. Less of a conference that teaches “how-to,” the forum is a creative hub where people gather to ask “how come?” Travel scholarships are available from the Michigan Conference Board of Young People’s Ministries. Click to learn more.
- Have a young adult ministry program or event in mind and need financial support to make it happen? Request funding from the Board of Young People’s Ministries by completing this request form. Download the template, fill it out to the best of your ability, and return it to Rev. Elizabeth Hurd at [email protected].
- Articles and books:
Last Updated on April 18, 2024