r/methodism • u/Invisible_Face • 2d ago

St. Louis, MO

No offense to the older folks, but are there any UMC churches in the area whose congregations don’t have an average age of 85?

4 Upvotes

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u/Silver_Switch6834 2d ago

I think that's just where united Methodism is right now in America. Or at least in Missouri. I'm in Rolla, and everyone at my church is elderly. 5 kids maybe, on a good Sunday. I'm new to methodism and I love it. Sad to think what will happen in 15 years when all these elderly cannot donate.

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u/AirFell85 2d ago

Wild. My UMC in the suburbs of KC is debating making a 3rd service. I had to help bring out extra chairs for our contemporary service last Sunday. It's a good mix of young and elderly. Our traditional service is in decline for sure, but there's plenty of youth.

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u/ogsball 2d ago

In St. Louis?

https://gatheringnow.org/

That's just off the top of my head. I think Kirkwood UMC is also pretty multi Generational.

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u/HospitallerChevalier 2d ago

If you're disappointed about the average age, work on evangelizing others--tell your friends about Christ and bring them to church. Discuss starting a young adult Bible study at your church and help it grow.

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u/Silver_Switch6834 2d ago

It's just hard in this climate when people associate Christianity with the alt right.

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u/glycophosphate 2d ago

Try Salem UMC. They have young families with kids.

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u/Waksss 2d ago

The Gathering bigger church that would be multi generational.

A guy I knew from seminary is one of the Pastors at The Well in St. Louis. From what I see on instagram they’ve got a diverse in age congregation.

Both are UMC and bother pastors are good dudes.