Footloose and Fancy Free

We received this note recently from a church leader responsible for second half adult ministry:

Would love to see ideas about getting the seniors group in my church off of their retired rear-ends and ministering. I fight the "I'm retired, let the younger ones do it" all the time. The seasoned, experienced, seniors group---with the most time on their hands and the most seasoned experience---don't want to commit to ongoing ministry. 

They want to be footloose and fancy free. Take off any time they want, go visit grandchildren any time they want. While I understand, that means they don't commit to ministry through our church. The Bible even instructs the elders to mentor the young ones. But nope, 'we are retired and ready to play.'

Most of what I hear is the issue of neglecting the elderly in church. I don't neglect them; I beg them to be involved, and they mostly say no.

Our retirement culture has a tight grip on some folks, and it's a mindset that has been allowed to germinate for years, often unchallenged by the Church.

With our focus on serving, we're often tempted to poke fun at the leisure lifestyle. But we're aware that some real ministry and life impact also takes place within that context.

At one church I unwittingly remarked about Christian retirees who seem plagued with an addiction to cruises. After speaking I was greeted by a precious couple who told me they go on two cruises a year and take a suitcase filled with Bibles to share with the cruise staff. Touche! 

I must respectfully take issue with the premise that visiting grandchildren equates to a disregard for ministry, but I do understand the frustration of working with capable adults who conclude they've moved beyond serving through their local church. Adults who have been tied down geographically for decades because of job responsibilities often have a natural craving to hit the road more often.

It's true that many perceive retirement as a right of passage from having a boss to now being their own boss---with a plethora of other new entitlements.

How 'bout seeing retirement as removing an earthly master so our heavenly Master can have at us in a deeper, unhindered way?

Having younger voices in our leadership mix helps to both encourage seasoned adults and challenge the retirement status quo, leading to some breakthroughs. Some retirees need a fresh wind of the Spirit. It's hard to get the cross-breeze blowing when only like-minded peers (sharing similar self-centered visions of the American dream) surround them.

Many young adults today have a high sensitivity to social injustice. Ageism (neglect and devaluing of older adults because of their advancing age) gets their attention. But social injustice cuts both ways. They can also see injustice in able-bodied retirees living only for themselves.

Before becoming too critical of retirees who scatter, let's remember that the Great Commission starts with "GO!" Here are some links to friendly advice for leaders who want to go deeper on this subject:

• Go for the Head

• Go for the Heart

• Go for the Hands and Feet

• Go Ahead, Take Some Chances

Please let us know when you see some movement among the footloose and fancy free at your church!

And please chime in with your own thoughts on this important motivational challenge. I haven't retired yet and would love to continue learning more.

Tip-a-Canoe and Titus 2

Although our kids might think otherwise, we weren’t around in 1840 when William Harrison of the Whig party became our ninth president. He was catapulted into office by a sagging economy and by a catchy campaign song, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too. 

Tippecanoe is a river in Indiana, the site of Harrison’s military victory over the Shawnee Indians in 1811. John Tyler, in his early fifties, was Harrison’s running mate—the younger candidate in the campaign jingle.

Harrison, our oldest elected president until Reagan, died at age 68 on just his 32nd day in office—not our finest example of being young enough to serve! He was better known for his presidential campaign rather than accomplishments in his shortest-ever, truncated term of office.

For campaign naysayers who had argued that Harrison was too old to serve, his early demise left them feeling quite prophetic.

Life expectancy then hovered around 40 years---so in reality 68 was pretty old. Average life span in America has since doubled.

While Harrison succumbed to pneumonia complications (and didn't necessarily die of old age), his death still points to the wisdom of intergenerational pairing in leadership. With the younger Tyler ready to step in, the Whig party's influence in the office of the President stayed afloat. Tippecanoe tipped, and the younger Tyler took the helm as our tenth president.

Leaving this short history lesson from a couple centuries ago, let’s paddle our canoes back a couple millennia. The new lyrics may seem a bit over-the-edge, but you’ll soon catch our drift as we venture on with ‘Tip-a-Canoe and Titus 2.’

Is Your Canoe Tipping?

Tipped canoes? We see a lot of churches with lopsided congregations, favoring an older or younger demographic. Turns out, the word “lopsided” is actually a nautical term, describing a tilt to one side. It favors one side and droops (like the ear of a lop eared rabbit) accordingly on that same side.

Wait! Is there anything inherently wrong with lopsidedness? As long as people are getting saved and nurtured in their faith, shouldn't generationally lopsided churches be celebrated? So what's the big deal if our canoes tip dramatically to the side of a particular age group? 'Whatever floats your boat', right?

(Before insisting I'm all wet, let's acknowledge that there are some strong, generationally lopsided churches reflecting the demographics of their communities. Intergenerational ministry may not always be practical, just as an intercultural mix is difficult to achieve in mono-ethnic communities.)

Sustainability is the most commonly mentioned concern for older congregations. Will the church still be around in ten to twenty years, or will the church simply dissolve as the elderly die off?

And on the younger side of the age wave, what's ahead for young adults when they begin celebrating birthdays beyond their church's targeted youthful demographic? Do they simply follow a new current to another church that targets a slightly older age group?

While sustainability is certainly a concern going forward, we're missing the boat if we think primary dangers lurk only years downstream. Truth is, the water can get pretty murky right now in our peer-only ponds.

Missing out on generation-to-generation dynamics (in both directions) should be a great concern for all of us. "I have no need for generations apart from my own" conflicts with how God designed His Church. This declaration of generational independence limits our perspective, development, outreach and joy in the present, both personally and corporately—while moving us closer to treacherous rapids for the ride ahead.

Balancing Our Boats

Although I haven’t spent much time in canoes, I did compete on the rowing team in college at Seattle Pacific. Rowing in a four- or eight-man shell is an ultimate team sport—with no superstars. In fact, standing out is not a good thing in races that demand synchronized movement and sustained power from every oarsman— first with the legs, then lower back and finally with the shoulders and arms to finish the stroke.

If a racing shell (or canoe) tilts to one side, you know instinctively something is wrong. Imbalanced vessels do not win races. And you don’t counterbalance by adding extraneous weights to the opposite side of these sleek shells. The source of the problem is usually human behavior.

In rowing, even a slight turn of the head creates imbalance. Heads and torsos must stay centered, with eyes fixed straight ahead, attentive to the commands of the coxswain. As the smaller framed leader without an oar, the coxswain is the only one facing in the direction the racing shell is headed. Guiding with a very loud and commanding voice, he or she keeps the team in rhythm and on course.  

Timing is critical. An oar submerged for an extra split-second can cause a disruptive event known as “catching a crab.” The oar blade gets stuck in the water, while the handle of the oar smacks the oarsman in the sternum. The racing shell quickly tips to the side of the submerged oar and embarrassingly sputters to a crawl, while teammates mutter unmentionable words in disgust.

In an instant, the prospects of winning that race all but disappear.

Titus 2

So, both Tippecanoe and tipped canoes demonstrate a clear need for balance, but who asked young Titus to come aboard?

Empowering Titus with coxswain-like authority, the Apostle Paul lays out a compelling racing strategy in Titus Chapter 2. His counter-intuitive, God-ordained plan offers balance. It helped avert generational lopsidedness in the Early Church, and we think this plan still has merit today. 

Paul the elder asks 
Titus the younger
to teach the older
—so that they can influence the younger.

With the rhythm of this back-and-forth, older-younger/younger-older leadership paradigm, no single generation dominates the boat from bow to stern, or from port to starboard. It’s truly a team effort, with everyone pulling together.

Notice the breadth of Paul’s language in Titus 2: WHOLESOME teaching, honoring God in EVERYTHING you do, bringing salvation to ALL people, TOTALLY committed to doing good deeds.

We easily recognize Paul's coaching toward wholehearted commitment. What we Americans seem to gloss over, though, is the intentional inclusion and interaction of each generation with other generations. Each generational part is engaged with the whole—with clear understanding that body parts are not meant to be whole by themselves!

Every generation has strategic value beyond its own generation. In mainstream American church contexts, we often emphasize wholesome and wholehearted love within generations but less commonly between them.

Titus 2 encourages us to strive for wholesome living within a wholesome church paradigm in which every generation impacts other generations. The older become role models for the young, and the younger Titus is instructed to offer both encouragement and spiritual challenge to the older, including admonitions to correct older adult behavior.

Staying in the Race

For several years in his twenties, one of our sons attended a young and vibrant church focused on Twenty Somethings. As he began to approach thirty, though, he started feeling a bit in the margins and out of sync.

Fortunately, church leaders began to recognize the shortsightedness of their over-emphasis on a singular age target—especially with a void of seasoned mentors. Wisely, they have since made a deliberate shift toward an intentionally intergenerational approach.

As we propel through life's seasons, many of our personal identities won't change (e.g. birthdate, birthplace, ethnicity, gender), but our age number, attaching like a barnacle to the side of our boat, keeps getting bigger until the day we die.

Church hopping/shopping every couple decades makes sense if we are called to be independent, self-centered, consumer-driven adults, looking for the perfect environment for each stage of life. In many ways our market-segmented culture can lead us down this tributary, but it conflicts with God's bigger picture and better plan.

As we grow older, we can't allow younger generations to become invisible to us, nor do we want to become irrelevant or invisible to younger generations. We all share an innate need to be valued and to glean from others—at every age and stage of life.

In spite of our generational differences, we're all in the same boat and benefit by winning this long race as a cohesive team. Let's move beyond the tipped canoes of generational favoritism or isolation, synchronizing our oars with the broader Christ-centered reach found in Titus 2.

“When we all pull together, how happy we’ll be! ”

We sang that song as kids—now let's practice it as adults!

Be a steady oar in your church, with your eyes fixed on Jesus—pulling not just for your side of the boat but for the whole team.

Let's row, row, row our boat together---courageously down the stream.

We Have Met the Enemy, and He is All Three of Us!

Have you ever noticed how quick we are to point out the faults of others, and how slow to admit our share of the blame for what's wrong in today's culture?

Take traffic for example. We readily complain about traffic when caught in a traffic jam. Do we realize that we are the traffic everyone else is complaining about?

And, it has become way too predictable on Capitol Hill. Republicans rant about Democrats, and Democrats rant about Republicans. The blame always seems to rest outside of ourselves.

My father-in-law, Don Popineau, was a residential house painter and an active deacon in his church before becoming an ordained minister in his early fifties. He jokingly told a group of pastors, "I've only been a pastor for three weeks, and already I hate deacons!"

Okay, so where are we headed with this conversation?

Approaching the end of our seventh year with YES! Young Enough to Serve, we've heard our share of rants about tech-tethered teens, not-so-sacred worship, theatre-like sanctuaries, and even about hipster pastors dressed in jeans, seemingly siding with the young while snubbing the old.

But let's take our punching gloves off for a moment and yank at the plank in our own eyes. Hitting the pause button on our rants, let's assume (or pretend) that WE in life's second half are our own worst enemy . . . all three of us: Me, myself, and I.

It's hard and out-of-character, I know, but we can do this!

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?”

— Matthew 7:4

Enemy #1: ME-Mastered Retirement

We live in a nation that nourishes an entitlement perspective regarding vocational retirement---usually in our sixties, followed optionally by a life of leisure. Some ask, "Is retirement even biblical?"

Well, retirement shows up in just one verse, Numbers 8:25, where the Levites had to retire at age fifty. (Whew! . . . a big sigh of relief from those of you who are vocationally retired!) 

While vocational retirement is not taboo in Scripture, it gets very little press.

What is not supported biblically is spiritual retirement, freedom that becomes lazy or self-absorbed, or personal identity grounded in retirement. Not a single verse or chapter support that kind of retirement!

renewing purpose

Let's face it, retirement sounds a bit tired, and it's a lonely word in Scripture. Pop the word 'renew' in your Bible search engine, and you'll find it's much more popular and life-breathing!

We're called to liberty and renewal. Through love we get to serve one another---often even more when the eight-to-five grind ends.

Enemy #2: MYSELF-Mirrored Segregation

This enemy highlights how generationally isolated we've allowed older adults to become in our culture---and sometimes even more so in our churches.

Year-after-year we grow comfortable peer-to-peer, but too often miss out on relationships from generation-to-generation.

We're disturbed by the cocoon or silo approach we find ourselves in, often a picture of only older adults caring about older adults. Are we going to settle for being an amputated body part? (We can't change what we're resigned to tolerate.)

From Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 12, the whole body needs to show concern for each part, and each part needs to show concern for the whole body. The head cannot say to the foot, "I have no need of you."

Paradigms need to shift to re-align with Scripture. It's not just about becoming more culturally relevant, attractive and creative. These are byproducts of love flowing in a healthy way from generation to generation (in both directions!). The Bible makes it clear that God wants more than each generation fending for themselves.

Specialized life stage ministries have value, but peer-only approaches leave us with huge generational gaps, nonstick faith as students graduate from high school, and Teflon-coated church attendance as parents become empty nesters.

energizing hearts

We can move some hearts and change some lives peer-to-peer. But to really change a paradigm, we need reinforcements from outside that paradigm: younger generations, saints cheering us on from heaven, and, of course, the Holy Spirit.

We handicap ourselves when we ignore the help of younger, more energetic hearts and minds, along with wisdom from the great cloud of witnesses who have gone on before us. Included in that cloud are poignant examples of the older Paul collaborating with the younger Timothy and Titus.

Helping churches build leadership teams with a broader age swath is a good starting point to combat enemy #2. YES! would love to help you broaden your team.

Enemy #3: I-Centered Salvation

Salvation from sin and the personal promise of eternal life are incredible. You and I as individuals are valued tremendously by God. The Father sent His only Son to redeem us.

But this wonderful redemption plan wasn't intended to stop with just us. We've been redeemed so that we might reach others.

Most American Christians admit to passing up the multiplication tables, opting for a quieter, noncontagious faith. For older, mature Christians who have experienced God's faithfulness over a lifetime, what a travesty when our light is hidden!

redeeming lives

If we're well grounded but not making disciples, what can we do?

One approach is conveniently convincing ourselves that evangelism and disciple-making are outside our wheelhouse of giftedness.

Another ill-advised approach involves beating ourselves up to the point where we add discouragement, guilt and timidity to our ineffectiveness.

The better approach is confessing our sin and asking God to help us become bolder and more deliberate in helping others in their faith journey. Then we look for situations where we can connect with those who are:

• without faith,
• new or weak in their faith,
• or lost in a faith without Christ.

Jesus needed to be around people like this in His life here on earth. We need these people in our lives too.

Candles lit only in bright sunlight make little sense. You are still young enough and bright enough to light up a dark room!

Me, Myself and I

So there you have it. Three temptations 'me, myself and I' might encounter in life's second half: becoming too retired, segregated or noncontagious.

A year ago most of us were blissfully unaware of Ebola and ISIS. They have since become familiar, formidable foes. Apart from praying, though, most of us will at best offer indirect help to those combatting these horrific enemies directly.

But with God on our side we can wage war directly with 'me, myself and I'. We know this enemy inside and out. And this too is a battle we must win!

“Lord, please penetrate our hearts and help us take the steps we need to move beyond ourselves—-so that our lives and the lives of others will be made whole. Amen.”

How Did It Get So Late So Soon?

You gotta love Dr. Seuss!

Some of you enjoyed having others read his books to you as children, then later reading his stories to your kids, grandkids and perhaps even great grandkids.

As more days, months and years pass, we’re pinching ourselves, "Can we really be this old already?"

So we may agree it's late, and late came faster than most of us expected.

The next question, "What are we going to do about it?"

We see a couple extremes in prevailing attitudes.

1. "It's late. Turn out the lights. The party is over."

2. "It's late. Turn up the lights. My remaining time is precious. Let's not waste these moments. God still has a powerful purpose for me in the twilight."

Usually there's quite a bit of good livin' between 'it's late' and 'you're done.' Sometimes we have to plow through major obstacles to remain purposeful. Things around us are changing rapidly, bodies are wearing down, and older adults can often start feeling abandoned.

It's easy to see why and how some people quit before the finish line, but God wants us to press on and give Him our best to the very end.

What Will You Build?

We love Psalm 71:18 (NLT):

“Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.”

The first half of the verse introduces life’s second half challenges. And the verse’s second half highlights purposeful, God-honoring interaction with younger, first-half generations as a key to the psalmist’s salvation.

We face an important choice. Build a generational wall and live out the old and gray years with the fear of abandonment. Or build a bridge that proclaims God’s glory to younger generations.

The psalmist had to push through some challenges - feeling old, gray, and abandoned - to get to his 'so late so soon' purpose.

Some of your 'new generation' purpose may sit across from you at the dinner table as grandkids or other young friends come to visit. Some might be in the lobby of your church or serve you across the counter at your bank, grocery store or restaurant. And some you may never know this side of heaven.

You have powerful, God-honoring life stories to share. Take time to communicate them now directly and through writing, video or audio recording---while you still have strength and clarity of thought.

Don't forget how much inspiration came into your life from those who were gone long before you arrived on the scene! (Like every Biblical writer, for instance!) 

Welcome Generation X

It’s hard to believe the last of the Baby Boomers turned 50 in December 2014! Generation X began joining the 50+ fraternity in January 2015!

Frankly, many churches with specialized ministries for adults on the plus side of fifty weren't quite ready for Boomers, and most are certainly not ready for Gen Xers. Again . . .

And, of course, fifty is not really SO late. And we don't believe there's a huge contrast between someone turning 50 in December 2014 vs. January 2015. These generational labels are our culture's attempt to make sense of generational nuances.

What we do believe is that connecting older generations with younger generations is key . . . for Gen X, Boomer and Builder generations. Let us proclaim His power to the next generations, His mighty miracles to all who come after us.

A Rapidly Aging America

America is aging and will be for the next several decades. (The 65+ population is on track to more than double between the 2010 and 2050 census, from just over 40 million to just under 90 million!)

Others can reinforce our getting stuck in the first half of Psalm 71:18 by isolating the aged and viewing aging only as a major personal and societal problem.

And we who are older also run the risk of viewing younger generations only through problematic lenses. This near-sighted myopia keeps us from moving beyond the first half of the verse---and makes us feel more and more obsolete, colorless and forgotten over time.   

But there is a better option. We can push through negative generational stereotypes and trust the Lord for fresh opportunities. Again, building a bridge to Part B:

“Proclaiming His power to this new generation, His mighty miracles to all who come after me.”

God’s awesome power has never depended on our age or physical strength. In fact, His power can become even more visible when the batteries on our aging clock run low.

It’s still early enough. And you are still young enough to make a mighty difference for Christ in the lives of others.

So late . . . so soon . . . and so many young lives yet to impact with God’s powerful love!

Tapping Into the Power of Intergenerational Ministry

"Intergenerational." Because it's a word that doesn't appear verbatim in Scripture, we might view it as a passing fad in American churches. 

But a closer look at Scripture shows kingdom principles, relationships, stories, legacy and disciple-making flowing freely from generation to generation, not just within generations.

Over the past year we have been privileged to partner in a significant way with the CASA Network (Christian Association Serving Adult Ministries) and the Fuller Youth Institute, champions of the Sticky Faith movement. 

Dr. Kara Powell, author of Sticky Faith and Director of the Fuller Youth Institute, has with her team highlighted key factors contributing to faith that sticks as young people transition to adulthood.  With a research grant from the Lilly Foundation, they probed deeply into why a disturbing number of young adults are walking away from their faith.

One of the primary keys to stickier faith is helping churches commit more deliberately to intergenerational ministry.  Many churches have great programs for every age group, but silo approaches have limitations when it comes to long-term impact, particularly when high school students transition to college and beyond.

Allow me to share a recent example of a church with whom we were privileged to share in meaningful, transformational impact.

A Collaborative Crossroads Convergence

Robin Garvin, a Southern California Children’s Ministries leader, put out a plea for children’s pastors to read Sticky Faith, to be followed by a discussion session at her home.  Laurie Hanks, the children’s pastor at Crossroads Church in Temecula, California, was one of the children’s pastors at that meeting. 

Laurie Hanks, Children's Pastor

Laurie returned to her church and met with other children and youth leaders at Crossroads and asked them to read Sticky Faith as well.  She also shared the book with the leadership of the Classics group, the name of their ministry for 50+ adults. 

“It was at that point Judy (Wick) gave me information regarding the CASA Network/Fuller Youth Institute’s Influence the Generations conference coming to our community,” Laurie disclosed.  The Saturday conference was hosted in January by Gateway Church of the Nazarene, and YES! Young Enough to Serve was privileged to be among the sponsors.  “Pastor Jim Grams, our Senior Associate Pastor, was then inspired to attend the conference and to get the Classics more involved.” 

I was privileged to hear ideas and passion already percolating in Pastor Jim’s heart as we met over lunch at the CASA Conference.  Judy was invited to share at Crossroads the following day, which according to Laurie “really helped seal the deal with our congregation.”

“We had talked before about intergenerational ministry and had some movement in that direction, but we never so fully put our feet to the idea.  This time, leaders from the children, youth and classics got together to plot out how it would come together.”  The women’s ministry leader also read Sticky Faith, and the men’s ministry leader is participating in a life group going through the book, chapter by chapter.

It’s now a very collaborative effort of the youth pastor, senior associate, children’s pastor, evangelism team, and men’s/women’s ministry leaders.  Their strategy is to take existing ministries and make them more intergenerational.  “We’re not just adding a layer of intergenerational events on top of our already busy schedule; we’re integrating,” Laurie explained.

Senior Adults Adopting High School Seniors

Pastor Jim capitalized on the momentum and got going right away.  Thirty members of the Classics group braved a Friday night winter storm to meet and review profiles of each high school senior thoughtfully prepared by the youth pastors, Adam and Amanda Sullivan.  While the high school seniors were not present that night, Pastors Adam and Amanda introduced the students' profiles and shared their hearts for these teens. 

Adam & Amanda Sullivan, Youth Ministers

Pastor Adam made it clear why he and Amanda believe intergenerational ministry is so vital and strategic:

 “For a long time, churches have treated teenagers like they live in their own world. They have their own music, their own service, and their own culture. The only person with a passport to go between the teenage and adult world is the youth pastor.

As youth pastors, we know that we can have a greater impact if more adults have passports to go between worlds. We want to see adults draw nearer to the younger generation and mentor them in a life with Christ.”

Fervent prayers were expressed on behalf of these soon-to-be-graduating high school seniors.  And then one by one, twelve seniors were adopted.  Some from the Classics group knew right away who they wanted to adopt, and others were joyfully selected after further deliberation. 

One ‘adopted’ young man was relatively new to the youth group, new to faith in Christ, and new to healthy Christian family involvement.  Before turning eighteen, he was an ‘emancipated adult’ who moved in with a family from Crossroads Church.  He plans to go into the military when he is older, so it was very fitting when a retired Navy veteran adopted him.  A new relationship is forming, and this retiree is now engaged, along with others, in helping to disciple this young man in his new walk with Christ.

That same weekend, members of the Classics brought gifts to the high school seniors on Sunday morning and introduced themselves to their new adoptees.  Basic instruction given to the adopters and the adoptees is to pray, communicate and simply shower each other with the love of Christ.

Jim Grams, Senior Associate Pastor

Pastor Jim shared, "It has been very exciting to watch the Classics jump at the opportunity to come alongside our high school seniors. Surely the Lord is pleased watching the 'older folks' loving on the 'youngsters'! It's just as it should be."

Some Plant, Some Water, While God Gives the Increase

Amanda (youth pastor) shared more about their recent winter camp. Their goal was to have a diversity in ages speak into the lives of the students.  So they had Adam (youth pastor), Manny Galvan (college/career pastor), Jake Evangelist (lead pastor from their Bishop campus), and Pastor Jim (senior associate) each share at the winter camp. 

Harlem Shake

Pastor Jim, the most senior among them, dove in and participated with the youth in a hilarious YouTube clip of the ‘Harlem Shake’, which instantly helped create a special bond and rapport. “Pastor Jim is everyone’s favorite part of the video. The kids are still talking about it,” Amanda shared with a smile. “And it really helped him connect with the youth later at a deeper level.  He was one of us.”

A combined talent night has now been planned for both the youth and Classics.  These used to be separate events.

A survey will be presented to the Classics so they can provide their profiles for the benefit of the children and youth pastors, identifying special expertise they can offer in children’s or youth ministry.

The women’s ministry leader is shaping one of their Bible studies to provide direct mentorship to children.

Scott Anderson, Lead Pastor

As another exciting expression of intergenerational ministry, Lead Pastor Scott Anderson asked each of his staff pastors to share a part of the Easter story, with each pastor telling a part of the story to their own age-specific ministry group. The worship leader is attempting to tailor a piece of music to every generation.  They are also talking as a staff about creating a special family service quarterly in those months with a fifth Sunday.

Pastor Scott underscored his belief that "intergenerational ministry within the framework of the local church is the exact model of a healthy church."

Crossroads’ evangelism team reached out to the nearby senior adult community of Fountain Glen and helped pave the way for new intergenerational relationships.   Kids with Purpose is a summer ministry of Crossroads where the children engage in acts of service within the surrounding community, including Fountain Glen.  Among other serving tasks, the kids help the adults create centerpieces for Fountain Glen’s summer luau, with help flowing freely in both directions between the generations. 

Because of the evangelism team’s efforts, many adults at that facility are now riding a bus to Crossroads on Sunday.  Included in this group of adults is a blind man who for obvious reasons needed more help while working together with the kids on the centerpiece projects.  He is someone the kids naturally gravitated to when he began attending Crossroads. How special and inviting for this older adult without sight to be greeted by name by children in the church!

Grandparents Day, September 8, is a major event in the planning stages.  Kids are going to be honoring senior adults, and they will be integrated into the children’s services.

Laurie is in her eleventh year as children’s pastor at Crossroads.  She has become increasingly aware of her need to connect long term with ‘kids’ formerly in her children’s church---offering encouragement as many of her students transition into adulthood. 

She has recently had a special burden for a young college freshman who God keeps bringing to her mind.  She texts him occasionally to let him know she’s praying for him.  The timing of the encouragement has been God-ordained. “You have no idea.  I was having such a hard time, and your text came at just the right time,” he told Laurie while wiping tears from his eyes.  It helped him know he was not alone.  “Knowing the Lord put me on your heart is powerful.” 

“Intergenerational momentum is now here and will be at the forefront of how we plan.  Our perspective has matured.  Our Classics group will never be the same again---after Judy’s challenge to them.”

From her perspective, Laurie shared that engagement of adults over fifty at their church was pretty typical, with many adults thoroughly committed to serving through Royal Family Kids Camp and other vital ministries.  But many 50+ church activities had defaulted to retirement stereotypes depicted in YES!’s Ted video.  And while many good things were happening, some attitudes of complacency needed to be challenged.  “It wasn’t necessarily a new revelation, but YES! helped provide a strong nudge for us to become much more intentional."

Sticky Faith Becoming Stickier

Pastor Adam is excited.  “I believe our efforts at Crossroads Church are doing more than I imagined. We are working hard to remove the barriers that develop between teenagers and adults."

"Instead of an adult visiting the teenage world, the two worlds can unite. Relationships between the age groups naturally push one another to grow closer to our Lord. And we know for the teenager that can make the difference in their faith sticking.”

Pastor Laurie shared further:

“We were able to identify many things already in place that are helping to create faith that sticks among our young people, so fortunately we weren’t starting from scratch.  It was good soil that needed to be cultivated.  And now we’re planting more seeds and watching them take root and grow.

Judy’s heart in sharing with the entire congregation the importance of loving and supporting each other as a church family had a profound impact. The people were impressed by the passion with which she shared.

Most people in our congregation would have already agreed that we need intergenerational ministry.  YES! helped us realize how important and urgent this calling is, and that now is the time to make it happen.  The YES! Young Enough to Serve message helped our Classics feel more valued and strategically vital in ministry.  It helped them know that their life experience and longevity of faith has current value to every generation.

An outsider’s perspective is so helpful---along with the fresh emphasis on relationships, the kingdom of God, and God’s call for all of us to make an impact, no matter what our age.

These are real needs that people need to grab a hold of.

Lead pastor buy-in from our Pastor Scott Anderson has been so critical.  He has always had an interest in intergenerational ministry, but we hadn’t really tooled it out in such practical ways.

We were ripe for the message, and it solidified what we needed to do.  YES! put an umbrella over it and helped everybody grip the handle of the umbrella. YES! helped our whole church connect to this passion and to become more deliberate in reaching outside our peer groups.

The seed has fallen on good soil.  It is well integrated and spreading.”

To God be the glory for allowing us to be co-laborers in healthy transformation happening in the lives of individuals, groups, churches and communities! 

-----

Wes and his wife, Judy (Popineau) Wick, are  founders and directors of YES! Young Enough to Serve. They would be honored to help your church move to a stronger, more intentional platform of serving, intergenerational ministry and disciple-making. Please connect with them.

PLEASE CLICK HERE IF YOUR CHURCH MIGHT BE READY FOR AN INTERGENERATIONAL TUNE-UP.