I wanted to explore what this "Intergenerational Ministry" was all about. I searched the internet for an article that would take me through the basics, show me the research and the history and explain the concepts. I found out heaps but soon realised if I wanted an accessible summary in one place I would have to write it myself!
Where did it start?
It started on Pentecost Day with the baptism of 3000 souls into the church, which then began to live as an inclusive Christian community – see Acts chapter 2 – the whole chapter! The movement known to many as “Child in our Hands” or “Child, Youth and Family Ministry” or “Intergenerational Ministry” is nothing new – it is just the latest historical renewal of the pattern of church life, which grows out of the Bible and the church of the Apostles.
Through God’s grace over the past 2000 years, the Christian faith has been passed on from generation to generation – right down to us. This has happened quite naturally through the centuries via the strength of the family structure, but in recent decades this pattern has been interrupted:
The membership decline within our denomination over the past 40 years reflects one central truth: many thousands of children baptised in our Church have not grown to adult faith maturity and retained active participation in the life of our congregations. (Priebbenow, 2007)
For a time, churches observed people drifting away from church life during their teenage years but often they would re-evaluate their priorities as they married and raised their own children. Their faith was important enough to them to want their children brought up in the faith, so they would return to an active church life. However this trend is also diminishing. By the time children are on the scene, often the parents have been away from church for so long there is little lingering sense of their faith being important in their life.
Churches began to ask: what are the key factors in nurturing faith in young people? How is faith passed on from generation to generation? How do we help our children and youth grow to a mature adult faith? Formal research into these questions began about 50 years ago. Founded in 1958 by Dr Merton P. Strommen, the Search Institute sought to research the healthy development of youth, particularly in religious settings.
Between 1988 and 1990, the Search Institute undertook a key study of “Effective Christian Education” in churches (Benson & Eklin 1990). Effective education was one in which faith is nurtured and grows to maturity. Are children that are baptised and confirmed still worshiping when they are adults? Are adults mature in their faith – both in their relationship with Christ and sharing their life of faith with others?
After many interviews, analysis and statistics, the key factors in the faith lives of those who remained involved in church life were uncovered (Benson & Eklin 1990, p38):
Of the two strongest connections to faith maturity, family religiousness is slightly more important than lifetime exposure to Christian education.
After years of congregations putting money and resources into Sunday School, Youth ministry and other programs, the research showed that the best people, those most influential in young people growing to a mature adult faith, are the parents! Faith grows most naturally in the family – as it has done for centuries. Somehow in the latter half of the 20th century, with all the pressures and attacks on the modern family, churches and families have lost sight of this important truth.
In fact, over the last 200 years, the powerful, formative role played by parents with their children has slowly unraveled. During the industrial revolution in the early 1800s, Sunday Schools were born as a way to educate and form children in the faith – their parents were too busy working just to keep bread on the table. This negative pattern of family devolution snow-balled as 20th century industry and 21st century technology developed, particularly in wealthy, industrial, first world nations like our own. True community continues to break down, and with it the structures that have carried the life of faith from one generation to the next.
Faith in families is crucial. What role, then, does the congregation have? The research also showed key factors supplied by a nurturing congregation, which recurred frequently in the faith stories of those interviewed (Benson & Eklin 1990, Excerpts from p42):
“The greater the quality of Christian education …, the more members report loyalty and growth in mature faith.”
“The practical implication is clear: If a congregation seeks to strengthen its impact on faith and loyalty, involving members of all ages in quality Christian education is essential.”
The research was pointing the way forward – families and congregations working hand in hand to nurture faith in the young and across all ages.
As the Search Institute broadened its research, and following the tragic death of his son, Dr Strommen founded a new research enterprise in 1987, now known as The Youth and Family Institute (from the history on their web site).
The vision of the Strommen family was to take the best of research, put it in a strong academic setting, surround it with the strength and foundation of a theology of the cross, and instill an evangelical spirit of ministry to help congregations strengthen families to nurture faith.
As The Youth and Family Institute reflected on the “best of research” such as the report above, as well as key Bible verses on passing on the faith, they were led to the approach to ministry that came to be known as “Child in our Hands”. To avoid the misinterpretation of this approach as centred entirely on children, it is now more commonly called “Intergenerational Ministry”. They set out to find ways to encourage families and congregations in working together to pass on the faith to younger generations.
What is it?
The Intergenerational Ministry approach is nothing new. (That can’t be said too often!) There is advice for congregations and families on passing on the faith so that church members, children in particular, remain active and joyful in their faith. However, it does not advocate a program or a set of steps for guaranteed success in passing on the faith. Rather the approach is a mindset, a perspective, taking on our God-given role in God’s family as faith-nurturers for other people.
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All the research clearly points us back to the family as the primary place where children ‘catch’ the faith. A core value of the Youth and Family Institute states:
“Understanding that the first third of life is a primary time for coming to faith, congregational ministry equips families to pass on faith in the home and in daily life”
Closely linked to the family is the congregation, providing both a support base for parents and grandparents as they pass on the faith to their children and grandchildren; as well as a place where children and youth and people of all ages are accepted, welcomed and encouraged to participate and live out their growing faith.
Pastor Greg Priebbenow states in his sermon on Deuteronomy 6:1-9 on the formingfaith.com web site:
In the Christian congregation, all adults are called to be faith-fathers and faith-mothers to the children and young people in their midst. Children are baptised not into families but into congregations – when a child is baptised the whole congregation enters into a partnership with the parents to raise the child in the faith. We partner with parents when we pray for them and their children; when we get to know their children and share our faith with them; when we love and accept their children as we would our very own. Passing on the faith is a community responsibility: or to paraphrase a well-known proverb, “it takes a whole congregation to raise a child in faith”.
At its heart, Intergenerational Ministry is about a faith community being just that: a real community where people care about each other and care for each other as well as a place of faith where faith is shared, nurtured, lived and celebrated among people of all generations. How do we encourage the growth of faith, pass on faith to the children and assist families with teaching the faith in our community? We don’t need programs. We don’t even need to do anything new. We just should get back to basics – living the faith together!
Key Concepts
To help set the focus for Intergenerational Ministry The Youth and Family Institute recommends that families and congregations keep in mind these five principles of nurturing faith (with additional quotes from Pastor Greg Priebbenow):
- Faith is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit through personal, trusted relationships, often in our homes.
“While parents are key influencers upon the faith and values of their children and young people, non-parent adults also have a very important role to play. These can include other relatives, teachers or older Christians from their church who know and value them.” [We’ve always known about the importance of other adult mentors – it’s the very reason we choose Godparents for our children when they are baptised!] - The church is a living partnership between the ministry of the congregation and the ministry of the home.
“On the one hand, the faith life of the home both deeply influences congregational vitality and is a vital component of the collective congregational ministry. On the other hand, the Christian household needs the nurturing ministry of the wider congregation in order to live and grow faithfully.” - Where Christ is present in faith, the home is church, too.
“God is at work in the “little church” of the family – in that community of people who know more of our weaknesses and frailties than anybody else – to mould us as his people.” “God gives to us the most immediate opportunities for Christian love and service in and through our very own homes! In the household we have innumerable opportunities to serve, to forgive, to listen, to care, to encourage.” - Faith is caught more than it is taught.
“The practices of faith – worship, prayer, fellowship, service, stewardship, fidelity and vocation – cannot be grasped in a classroom. They are caught through observing and practicing alongside others who are farther along in the journey of faith.” - If we want Christian children and youth, we need Christian adults and parents.
“Forming faith in children and youth involves tending and developing the whole congregation as an interconnected, interdependent system of relationships, interactions and activities. No group or area of congregational life is unimportant to the whole-congregational endeavour of child, youth and family ministry.“ “Adult faith development is a particularly vital part of a congregation’s faith formation ecosystem. While much effort is poured into child and youth ministry in many congregations, adult faith formation is often assumed. But is that assumption a reasonable one? If American research is anything to go by, perhaps not!”
Four keys for nurturing faith in the home were brought to the fore strongly by the research:
- Caring Conversations
“In essence, ‘caring conservation’ involves weaving faith into our daily interactions. Great times for caring conversation include mealtimes, on the way to and from school, bathtimes and bedtimes, before and after church, and during leisure activities. While formal, structured conversation can be helpful, it is often the unplanned spontaneous interactions that have more impact in conveying our heartfelt passions, convictions and values. ” - Family Devotional Life
“The first step in developing a rich family devotional life is to cultivate ways of listening to God. God’s primary way of speaking to us is through his Word. As we dust off our bibles and putting them to use in our daily lives, we hear him speaking to us and experience him working within and amongst us.” - Family Service Projects
“Search Institute research has found that adults who are higher in faith maturity are more likely to have been involved in faith-related service as children and teenagers, and that such involvement is a better predictor of adult faith maturity than child/youth participation in Sunday school, bible study or even worship services. What we hear is often lost to memory, but what we do in serving others is often life-shaping and faith-shaping.” - Meaningful Rituals and Traditions within the Family
“Ask adults to recall their best childhood experiences and they'll frequently recall events involving family traditions or rituals.” “Within the Christian home, rituals and traditions play a vital role in the practice and sharing of faith with one another. Through faith-grounded family rituals and traditions, God breaks into our daily lives, reminding us of his love and grace, and calling us to realign our lives to his will and purposes. They are a means of weaving faith into our everyday interactions with one another, and giving focus to Christ in the mayhem and frantic busyness that characterizes much of family life today.”
How can I help?
The Youth and Family Institute also highlights three characteristics of caring faith-nurturers; and that is, perhaps, the easiest place to make a start in your personal approach to Intergenerational Ministry! Think about being an “AAA” person of faith to those around you: be authentic, available and affirming in your congregation and in your family.
Live in your faith authentically. Allow others to see your faith active in your life. Allow them also to see your doubts and questions. Discuss your faith and faith issues and how you really feel about it. Seek opportunities to grow in your faith and learn more about God’s authentic love for you as you share this love with others.
Be available for relationships and interactions in which to share your faith with people of all ages. This could include being a Sunday School helper or attending a youth drop in night or attending morning tea to chat with members and visitors or inviting a whole family to dinner, making sure the children feel invited and special too, or being ready to really listen when you ask someone, ‘How are you?’. And don’t be shy when faith issues arise in the conversations you’ve made yourself available for!
Warmly affirm the faith life of those around you. Resist the urge to discourage others – we often notice our blunders and mistakes without any outside help! Notice and encourage those who contribute to our worship or care of property or organising welfare or who serve and express their faith in countless other ways.
This approach grows out of sharing God's love with others and need not be complicated or hard to do. I heard about one of our elderly people who went out of her way to buy a birthday gift for one of our young adults celebrating a milestone birthday. She wanted to encourage this young person for her presence and her ministry in our congregation saying “we are lucky to have her”. What a great example of being authentic, available & affirming! Consider prayerfully how you can take up the “AAA” opportunities around you.
See also:
- Mixing up the generations: Why a congregation with ‘Snow on the Roof” is great!
- Intergenerational Worship: Why it matters
References:
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Benson, Peter L., & Eklin, Carolyn H. (1990), Effective Christian education: A national study of Protestant congregations - A summary report on faith, loyalty, and congregational life. Minneapolis: Search Institute. (View online at http://www.search-institute.org/congregations/ece_summary_report.pdf [PDF file 3.61MB])
Priebbenow, Greg (viewed February 2007), Introducing the Youth & Family Institute "Four Keys", http://formingfaith.com/3.html
Read more:
- Pastor Greg Priebbenow’s web site on passing on the faith: http://formingfaith.com/index.html
- Read Pastor Greg’s full writings on the four keys: http://formingfaith.com/3.html
- Read Pastor Greg’s full writings on the five principles/themes: http://formingfaith.com/4.html
- The Youth and Family Institute web site: http://www.youthandfamilyinstitute.org/index.html
- Thoughts on AAA adults: http://www.youthandfamilyinstitute.org/thoughtsfrompaul.htm