Jason Santos, in his foreword to Intergenerate,  wrote,

“Perhaps our young people are abandoning church as young adults because it was never theirs to begin with.”

When Christians give into generational mocking like this, we reinforce the belief that young people don’t belong.  

One of our youth pastors, though he may not have read this quote from Santos, is actively working to include young people in the church’s life. In a recent conversation, he shared his efforts to break down generational barriers through various intergenerational activities. By organizing Bible studies, barbecues, and beach days, he is fostering meaningful relationships among all age groups in his congregation. 

I believe this approach is crucial for effective discipleship, benefiting both the younger and older generations. For too long, we’ve operated under a ministry mindset that separates children and youth from the rest of the church, focusing on an educational model rather than the relational aspect of faith formation.  

When Paul described the church as a body, he envisioned it as a unified whole, not fragmented into younger, middle-aged, and senior segments. The church is called to be one body, and this means bringing everyone together. 

An approach to ministry that I think we need to urgently consider is called “intergenerational ministry.” Our churches are all multi-generational, but few of us are intergenerational. We separate our young people from the rest of the church, so that the only adults they interact with are their volunteer leaders, but we’re depriving the rest of the church of this meaningful interaction.  

Dr. Sam Reimer, in Caught in the Current, writes  

“to keep young people engaged, [churches] need to create opportunities for youth to form intergenerational relationships with non-parental adults in the church” [p. 117]. 

Our young people inherently recognize the importance of meaningful conversations. In the Perspectives study that our department ran a few years ago, we noticed that encouraging relationships were important in their faith formation. Students looked at various adults and what stood out was not the position these people held, but their postures of building relationships. Our students valued adults who listened to them, who didn’t interrupt them mid-sentence, and who saw them as fellow disciples.  

Intergenerational ministry is going to look different based on our context. Factors such as the facility in which we meet, the demographics of our people, and the size of our congregation are all important. However, for the sake of our churches it’s important that we find ways to bring the church back together. 

As the youth pastor put it, “We’re a family.” Let’s work to strengthen relationships across generations and foster a truly inclusive church community.