Focal Areas of United Methodist Mission

The Four Focal Areas for United Methodist Mission in 2008-2012:
Making Disciples for the Transformation of the World

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ver the past quadrennium, there have been significant discussions at all levels of The United Methodist Church about the future of the denomination, fueled, in part, by concerns for the viability and relevance of United Methodism in the future. While there is ample membership growth in Africa and Asia, research consistently reveals that the church in the United States is aging and our numbers are declining:

  • The average United Methodist here is 57 years old.
  • We are not effectively reaching U.S. youth and young adults; those under age 18 comprise only 4.6 percent of our membership.
  • The number of ordained and commissioned elders under age 35 here is a mere 850. 
  • U.S. membership has slipped below 8 million for the first time since the 1930s, even as non-white and immigrant populations here rapidly grow.
  • While total U.S. giving has increased, the number of givers has decreased.

The Council of Bishops, Connectional Table, agency general secretaries, conferences and local churches worldwide have been seeking ways to take the best of what United Methodists do, and focus and grow that work into inspirational opportunities for discipleship. That effort has led to the creation of four focal areas for the denomination’s mission:

  • Creating new churches and faith communities—in other words, new places for new people to experience vital worship and ministry.
  • Developing new, principled, visionary leadership. 
  • Overcoming poverty by engaging in strategic, creative ministries with the poor. 
  • Promoting global health by eradicating diseases related to poverty, including malaria and HIV/AIDS.

The mandate of the General Commission on Religion and Race is to ensure that people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds are fully included in the mission and ministry of The United Methodist Church. We believe this mandate is paramount in responding to the current challenges facing the Church and envisioning what it will take to move our Church into the future with a more relevant witness, a renewed spirit of holy boldness, and Christ-centered ministries that speak to all people in all places throughout the world. 

In a world and a nation that are increasingly young and non-white, the Church must be willing to extend its focus on leadership and church development, poverty and health to the young and to people of color, people who do not constitute the majority of United Methodists. That focus must be intentional and transformational for us, if we are truly to be about the work of “Making disciples for the transformation of the world.”