This year’s Christians in Action event will be the Community Food Network Oct. 2 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Harvesters in Kansas City, Mo. The event is for all junior-high and high-school youth.

The cost is $18 per person, which includes lunch, insurance, a youth service fund offering and a C.I.A. t-shirt. Participants must wear closed-toe shoes. Layered clothing is recommended.

Get more information at http://www.kansaseast.org/events/detail/3348.

Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Conventions will be Oct. 1-4 in San Diego, Calif., and Nov. 19-22 in Nashville, Tenn. Mike Ratliff will be at the San Diego event. He will host a UMC get together as well as present a workshop. Get more information at http://nywc.com/.

Leadership Institute, Oct. 7-8, discount available for young adults.Thanks to sponsorships from a number of organizations, a significant discount can be offered to men and women 25 years and under to attend Leadership Institute at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. They can register for the Institute for as little as $49.

One of the most important visions at this time in the life of the church is to focus our efforts on raising up young leaders for the future of the church.

Look around your church and identify young men and women who have potential for a life of Christian service. This may be in the ordained ministry, as a lay member of a church staff, or simply as a person who you see becoming a key volunteer within the church for years to come. Consider sponsoring them to attend and paying their way to the conference.

To register young adults with the special rate, go to www.cor.org/yad for instructions.

The Bishop’s Round-up for Hunger Lock-in will be Nov. 19-20 at Lawrence First UMC West Campus at 6th St (Highway 40) and K-10. The lock-in is for mid-high and high-school youth. The Round-up will be Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Lawrence. The intersection is about a mile south of the Lecompton exit off I-70.

Bring bedding, clothes to work in on Saturday and $5 for pizza. If you have not attended a youth event during the 2010-11 school year, please bring a health form with you.

The conveners will be Maribeth Emmert, Topeka First UMC, and Rev. Gina Gile Americus UMC.

Download the forms and get more information at http://www.kansaseast.org/pages/detail/536.

Youth Worker Summit will be Dec. 1-4 Orlando, Fla. Speakers include Phyllis Tickle and Rodger Nishioka. Check out http://www.youthworkersummit.org.

The Spiritual Life Retreat for high-school students will be Jan. 21-23, 2011, at Camp Chippewa. More information will be available soon on the conference Web site.

The Israel/Holy Land Study Tour will be March 18-26, 2011. This life-transforming trip is for high-school sophomores, juniors and seniors and young adults ages 18-24.

The base cost of the trip will be $2,688 per person.

The deadline for the Holy Land Study Tour registration with $300 deposit is Oct. 10. Full payment is due by Dec. 3. Passport information is also required by Dec. 3.

Get more information at http://kansaseast.org/pages/detail/1018.

Institute 2011, June 19-15, will mark 100 years of Institute at Baker University. The six-day event is designed for youth completing 8th-12th grades to explore personal faith and how to impact today’s world.

There will be a Sunday evening gathering for all alumni of Kansas East Institute.

For more information, go to http://www.kansaseast.org/pages/detail/532.

Youth 2011 will be July 13-17 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. This is the national gathering held every four years for The United Methodist youth. Kansas East plans to take at least two buses.

The cost will be $375 per participant. More information is available at www.youth2011.org.

Youthworks scheduling mission trips for 2011. YouthWorks’ core purpose is to help the church be the church by providing life-changing, Christ-centered resources for ministry. One ministry of YouthWorks is summer youth mission trips. There are 76 sites to choose from within the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Visit http://www.youthworks.com.

When kids leave the church: Experts cite reasons for departing
Austin Smith grew up in the United Methodist Church. Confirmed in the sixth grade, he was active in the youth group, became friends with the youth director and even played guitar in the youth praise band.

But in college, his interest and involvement in the church dwindled. He soon found himself looking for a sense of community elsewhere.

Like Mr. Smith, many young adults in the United Methodist Church are falling through the cracks in-between youth group and being part of a local church. In fact, a recent Lifeway Research study showed that more than two-thirds of young adults who attend a Protestant church stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22.

For more than half of the young adults who stop attending church, changes in beliefs contribute to their decision: 18 percent disagreed with the church’s stance on political or social issues; 17 percent said they were only going to church to please others; 16 percent no longer wanted to identify with organized religion; and 14 percent disagreed with the church’s teachings.

Read more of Mallory McCall’s article at http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=6958.