First Christian Church in Athens, Ohio is considering whether to move from its existing location near the campus of Ohio University. Photo: Ian Bowman-Henderson (click to enlarge)

By Ian Bowman-Henderson, DisciplesWorld contributing writer

ATHENS, Ohio (11/10/09) — Every Monday earnest churchgoers stand outside the aging façade of 24 W. State Street. They pass granola bars and cups of coffee to students trekking towards campus for the first classes of the day.

On Sunday morning they greet each other with smiles carved deep from years of use. Wizened hands shake wizened hands. An hour or so later, Interim Minister Jeff Bartlett gives the benediction. The congregation trickles downstairs to join in fellowship for a “Hospitality Half Hour.”

"I don’t think that it’s what students are looking for at this point," says Shirley Williams, a member of Athens First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for more than forty years. "Some people think that they can get their worship from a one-on-one relationship with God and not in a congregation."

First Christian is searching for a new pastor, a new vision for its ministry and possibly a new location outside of uptown Athens. The deteriorating brick building which houses the church has long been a major concern for the congregation, but moving away from campus means moving away from the students they try to reach.

“Even if it were moving to the other side of campus there would have to be a change of vision,” says Bartlett. “Any geographic change represents a change of vision.”

In 2008, First Christian held a dinner for young adults who had worshipped in Disciples of Christ churches prior to enrolling at Ohio University. Bartlett wanted to pick their brains for tips on reaching the twenty-somethings whose beer-soaked porches dot the sidewalks surrounding the church. Thirty Disciples were called. Only five came.

To Williams, the dearth of students is a generational problem.

“I think whether it is students, or couples with young families or even the next older generation, those of us who are really concerned about the future of the church need to do something to get their attention — I just don’t know what that is,” says Williams. “The whole society is on such a run, I guess we just aren’t running towards the Lord.”

OU freshman Sara Swaim grew up spending nearly every Sunday seated on one of First Christian’s venerable wooden pews. She knows time and nature have nearly pushed the old building to its limits; she knows the emotional toll that student outreach has taken on the congregation.

“It hurts our spirits. We’re reaching out and trying to incorporate other people into our faith and just to have people not respond is heartbreaking,” says Swaim, “But at the same time it is kind of inspiring — they haven’t really let up over the years.”

Williams believes that even a move away from campus wouldn’t mean First Christian is turning its back on students — but the congregation has to make tough choices.

Over the weekend students trash the church, and lately they’ve been altering the sign in front of the building. They rearrange the letters, and the words they make are not fit for a place of worship. Every Sunday morning, churchgoers have to repair the damage.

“There are families that are associated with other organizations that use our church that say they won’t let their kids come on the weekend because of the students that are around there,” says Williams. “So do we aim at the students we can’t reach and lose other people in the community too?”

According to Bartlett, a Wesleyan church moved out of town to reopen near Albany, and is really thriving.

“They’ve tapped into the Athens school system and the Albany school district," said Bartlett. "They have a great youth ministry.”

First Christian owns a plot between Albany and Athens, and nearly all the speculation about relocating revolves around this land. According to Williams, the university is not the place it once was — everything has changed.

“All the fires and the things that start on the weekends and that sort of thing, it just seemed to be unheard of back then,” says Williams. “It wouldn’t have happened in Athens. Basically the people who are doing it are the unchurched and we have more unchurched now than we had then.”

From 1980, the earliest year for which a Unified Crime Report is available, to 2005, property crimes in Athens decreased by 51 percent.

“It seems like a spirit of rebellion, like the Sixties but maybe even more so than when Shirley was a kid,” says Swaim. “It’s a generational thing.”