Online ministries have become a must for churches trying to engage a generation living in the instant-gratification, constant-communication world of Twitter and Facebook.

But before the Internet, before computers… and well, even before electricity, Christian movements still relied on a kind of social networking.

Just look to John Wesley, the maverick theologian who founded Methodism.  Wesley spent most of his 18th-century life preaching outside of the church and organizing small groups of believers to hold each other accountable.

“Wesley believed in a form of social networking before there was new media,” said Rev. Larry Hollon, the general secretary of communications for the United Methodist Church.  “He’d have small groups meeting face to face, studying the Bible, interacting with each other and studying with each other.  His understanding of networking, applying his concern for individual support and sustainability, makes him very relevant.”

The United Methodist Church, in line with Wesley’s atypical style of ministry, launched a campaign in the spring—directed at the favored 18-to-34 demographic, of course—directing young people to “Rethink Church.”

“What if church was a real social network? Would you come?” asks one promo video (below).

“What if church was a way to prove what we say we believe with our lives? Would you come?” asks another.

Young Methodists agree that as fewer of their peers attend church regularly, any efforts to approach Christian practice in new ways (like the Rethink Church campaign) can open up their community while giving a nod to the ways of the church’s founder, Wesley.

When Thomas James, 25, was a student at Ferrum College in southwest Virginia, he followed the examples of Jesus and Wesley; even at a Methodist college, he sought out the not-so-religious.  That meant not restricting his time to the Bible-bumpers and the Christian groups, but also going to fraternity houses, playing sports, attending parties.

“One of the big issues is churches are still filled with elitists, and that’s completely the opposite of what (Wesley) taught,” said Thomas, who grew up outside Atlanta and still talks with a slight drawl.  “We’re not going to the same places he did.  I don’t think we’ve ever lived up to him.”

Thomas now attends Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C., where he works to connect young clergy at the school’s Lewis Center for Church Leadership.  Some Wednesdays, he’ll attend the seminary’s casual, emergent-style worship service, which typically draws in a dozen or so curious community members who, he said, “just want to be a part of it and see what it was like.”

More personal worship groups, not unlike those formed by Wesley 200 years ago, are regaining popularity among younger Methodists.

“The accountability, the small groups—I see that focus coming back,” said Jennifer Coffey, 27, a graduate of Virginia Tech who’s now also completing a divinity degree at Wesley Theological Seminary in D.C.

Even after being raised in the United Methodist Church, Jennifer, pictured left with her daughter, only knew some basics on Wesley before taking an intensive course on church history and doctrine this summer.  In the class, Jennifer read and discussed Wesley’s blog-like journal entries, which describe his ministry experience on both sides of the Atlantic.  (They’re actually all available online now.  My favorites are “Press-gang disturbs the sermon” and “Wesley and his barber.”)

The entries showed how much he pushed the boundaries to reach people, just as the church is now using technology as ministry, said Jennifer, a married mother-of-one.

“Facebook and Twitter are ways to stay connected, but not at the expense of losing the foundation.  They cannot replace community,” she said.

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 5 percent of Americans, more than any other mainline Protestant denomination, belong to the United Methodist Church, which has more than 34,000 churches in the U.S.

But like most churches, the population—estimated by the church to be nearly 10 million—skews to the middle-aged.

“What’s really difficult is that they want young adults, but they get disillusioned… they may or may not come to church on a Sunday morning, but they need to know they’re cared about during their formative years,” said Jennifer Mihok, a 24-year-old mission intern with the Methodist Federation for Social Action, a nonprofit group in Washington D.C.  “That’s the role the church should be playing.”

(Image of John Wesley from Conservapedia.  Illustration by Kate Shellnutt.)

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