By Brett Hetherington*

One of the greatest challenges of any ministry is growth, both in the number of people involved and in the maturing in faith of those participants. As church congregations age, growth of youth ministries becomes even more important, with a frequent question being: How do we create a space where our teens want to invite their friends to come and be a part of what we are doing?

Dover First United Methodist Church (South Forest District) has figured out the answer to that question.

The explosive growth of the Dover First UMC youth ministry started around the beginning of 2023 when the church held its annual lock-in in January. “It was the kind of thing where at the time we had six teenagers associated with the church and they brought all of their friends and that snowballed it. Our youth group snowballed overnight. We went from a youth group average of six-ish to about 15 almost every week,” said Pastor Wesley George. Of those numbers Director of Youth Ministries Logan Ladrich shared that “probably 10 of those 15 are friends of friends.”

At that time the youth of the church were preparing for YOUTH 2023, an every-four-year, four-day event for youth of The United Methodist Church featuring discipleship, fun, and fellowship.

“We were planning YOUTH 2023 so there was a lot of energy and fire rolling through the hallways that was feeding this,” shared Deena Wolfe. “There was a lot of service. It was hands on, tactile, putting love into action. It was big for our church. It was a wake-up moment.”

Though the money was not available to simply be handed to the youth, in six months their passion raised $10,000 and enabled them to take part in the trip.

Service is at the core of almost everything the Dover First UMC youth ministry does. There is a wall in the building that is full of pictures from events and projects the youth ministry has taken part in or led, sharing their servants’ hearts with everyone who walks by. Some of the events are large, such as a work project that was undertaken while at YOUTH 2023. Many others are smaller in scope and closer to home like serving at the care home next door to the church.

When the church custodian was unable to work due to shoulder surgery, the youth group at 6:00 a.m. after a lock-in cleaned the entire building – and continued to clean for several evenings during that period. There were numerous compliments given to the pastor from people who did not realize it was the youth who had been cleaning the church building out of a heart to serve. The church knows the youth well, supports them financially, and are invested in their lives, too.

“We have a handful of people who probably know every kid’s name, in the church,” shared George. “There are at least a half dozen couples who know every kid who walks through those doors. They talk with them, they laugh with them, they really know them.”

The commitment to the youth ministry does not end there, as adults show love in support of their fundraising for events, showing up at their events for school or extra curriculars, and even opening their homes for youth group activities.

“The adults invite us in with the progressive dinners, and they interact with them getting to know them. The kids are getting to go to the homes of people in the congregation and getting to know them,” said Wolfe.

“There’s an expectation from the youth that if they have an event, they are going to see people from the church at the event,” added George.

The group has become so close-knit that there have been times the regular weekly meeting has been canceled because more than half the group was planning to attend an indoor soccer club game to support friends who were playing that night.

Service and fun events are not the only components that make this group flourish as it does. There is a spiritual teaching element that is present to help the youth in their faith development. Ladrich admitted to some early struggles as the lessons did not connect with the group where they were initially. So, he adapted.

“I started doing five-minute devotionals and they’re like ‘we love this!’ And like six months later they’re asking for more. It’s very much personal relationships. It’s not that they’re jaded toward church it’s that their parents never took them to church for a lot of them,” Ladrich said.

George and Wolfe echoed the importance of personal relationships that have been built within the group with the adult leaders, stressing that it has created a space where the youth are not afraid to ask questions and grow in their faith.

Teaching, community, and service. The youth ministry at Dover First UMC is built on these principles and is thriving as a result.

“It’s not spending a million dollars. We don’t have the best curriculum. We just have the most support and the best people,” said Wolfe.

The Conference Communications team would like to share other stories that highlight ways that each of us is answering the call to reach out to our communities in creative ways. Please e-mail your ministry story to EOC Executive Director of Communications Rick Wolcott at wolcott@eocumc.com.

* Brett Hetherington is the Communications specialist for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.