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 Connecting the GenerationsClose the gap between younger and older people in your church.
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"Not everyone is going to want to do this," says Mike Sciarra, pastor of families at Voyagers Bible Church in Irvine, California. "That's okay. We don't want to swing the ministry pendulum all the way from age-specific to totally age-integrated. The two can co-exist." Instead of complete overhaul, some innovators have succeeded with small, experimental forays into inter-gen ministry. Rock the Cradle SlowlyWhen Ben Freudenburg joined the staff of Christ Church in Phoenix, he began examining ways he could "tweak" the existing ministries to introduce an inter-gen element. Freudenburg had been a pastor of youth and children in Kirkwood, Missouri, for 17 years. There he cultivated a culture of intergenerational ministry from which he wrote The Family Friendly Church (Group, 1998). The book included a section on shifting the church's paradigm. At Christ Church he put his transformation principles into action. He discovered that every Advent season the church displayed larger-than-life Nativity characters made from wire framing and filled with Christmas lights. These figures were placed on the roof of a covered walkway (they placed the Wise Men to the east of the manger and moved them westward each evening). As they read the story and each character was mentioned, its rooftop figure was lit. Freudenburg asked himself, How can I tweak this highly visible event to bring generations together? He invited the households of the church to bring their own Nativity scenes to the chapel. Prior to the lighting ceremony, the little manger sets were displayed for the whole community. They celebrated the variety and international diversity of the crèches. Following the lighting, Freudenburg and his wife led a devotion that included readings and exercises for families to do and discuss together. There was also a place for families to dress in costumes of the Nativity characters. While so adorned they made photos and videos to send to distant grandmas and grandpas. Can I Do This?The biggest obstacle to intergenerational ministry is personal insecurity. "Parents are so used to the church planting their children's faith development that they don't feel they have the know-how," Freudenburg contends. "Therefore, when we give them options, they feel frustrated. The solution: we need to equip parents to lead their family's faith development." For Freudenburg, equipping parents includes hosting a devotional fair. Bible studies, models for instruction, and other resources are on display at various stations. At each station parents are invited to try each resource with their children. If parents find something that works well for their whole family, they can buy it and use it at home. |             |
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