The Gospel's Glory in Every Generation
It’s beautiful to see a congregation sharing and celebrating the gospel across generations! A family who adopts an older couple with no kids as “grandparents,” gives the couple and their kids the opportunity to do life together. Families who welcome college students and newcomers to the community, give them a place to belong. As a disciple-making church, we bring the gospel to people who need it, and we live it out together, extending the promise across generations. Here are a few pictures of how I see it working:
We just had our annual Women’s Christmas Tea, where we filled our gym with school girls, grandmas, and women of all ages in between. As the guests enter that morning, each table has already been decorated by a host with special dishes and centerpieces. On their way to find their table, they greet one another and rejoice in the beauty of each table, sharing in childlike wonder. As they gather at their tables, boys and men serve them. During the program, they play games and laugh together, sing Christmas carols, and hear a gospel testimony from a woman in the congregation. Each one is encouraged to see Jesus for who he is, know they are loved by God, and trust him. It’s a beautiful tradition where our families, neighbors, and friends see that the gospel makes a difference at every stage of life and are reminded that we learn with each other and from each other. Each of us has a place here, and we all come to Jesus with childlike wonder.
We have an amazing team of leaders serving in Student Ministries, individuals and couples in their 20s to their 70s. Computer programmers, nurses and social workers, property managers and mechanics, stay-at-home parents, educators, etc. These adults have a wide range of skills and training, yet they all come to invest their time and their lives in students from 6th grade to college. These leaders participate in the program each week at church. They go on summer spiritual formation trips with these students. They attend band concerts, cross country meets, dance recitals, and hockey games. The time they take to be with students in life and in Bible studies helps students feel seen and loved. They lead Bible studies and discussions with grace, and students seek them out to explore deep questions, discussing relationships and decisions. Leaders pray for students and are prayed for by students. Leaders answer questions, and they learn from the insight and perspective of students, too.
In turn, many of these students serve as leaders in Children’s Ministries. They partner with other adults to invest in younger kids―birth through 5th grade―in the nursery, in Sunday School classes, and in Vacation Bible School. Students make up a third of our Children’s Ministries leader team. They pour themselves into younger kids the way their parents and leaders invest in them. The younger kids look up to them, greet them with bear hugs in the hallways, and enthusiastically tell stories about the games they play and the things they learn from their big kid friends. Students are partners with us in the gospel, and they learn from kids, too, all the while affirming their faith and being assured that they have a valuable role in our church family.
We have older people who pray for our ministries and the people in our congregation. They serve as greeters and learn the names of younger people in the congregation, listening to stories about our lives and kids. Many are facing difficult health challenges, heartache in family situations, or grief of many kinds, yet as they continue walking with Jesus, they encourage our church family. They have passed the baton of leadership to a new generation, yet they remain engaged, cheering on those who are coming after them, reminding us to stay close to Jesus and to trust his Word. They make room for new approaches to ministry, as we continue the mission they own with us.
My friend John is an inspiration to many. Although he’s naturally an introvert, he prayerfully seeks people out for conversations. It might be a new person at church or a worker at a coffee shop. He prepares by praying that the Holy Spirit would give him good questions to ask. He listens to podcasts to be aware of what young people are interested in, so he can be ready to connect those interests and questions to conversations about Jesus in meaningful ways. He anticipates sharing his faith with someone who feels far from God, as well as helping young believers be anchored in God’s Word and equipped to follow Jesus. He simply makes himself available and offers what he can.
Experiencing the gospel in intergenerational contexts is powerful. In smaller congregations, it may come more naturally to live as a family. Larger congregations can often get segregated by age groups. While there are important reasons to learn with our peers, the gospel is a rich treasure for us to share together across generations. Each of these relational connections matters. The gospel unites us as a people and mobilizes us. It is a precious partnership unrestricted by labels or age. As we live and serve together, we see the gospel’s power and truth impacting our church family through every season.
We just had our annual Women’s Christmas Tea, where we filled our gym with school girls, grandmas, and women of all ages in between. As the guests enter that morning, each table has already been decorated by a host with special dishes and centerpieces. On their way to find their table, they greet one another and rejoice in the beauty of each table, sharing in childlike wonder. As they gather at their tables, boys and men serve them. During the program, they play games and laugh together, sing Christmas carols, and hear a gospel testimony from a woman in the congregation. Each one is encouraged to see Jesus for who he is, know they are loved by God, and trust him. It’s a beautiful tradition where our families, neighbors, and friends see that the gospel makes a difference at every stage of life and are reminded that we learn with each other and from each other. Each of us has a place here, and we all come to Jesus with childlike wonder.
We have an amazing team of leaders serving in Student Ministries, individuals and couples in their 20s to their 70s. Computer programmers, nurses and social workers, property managers and mechanics, stay-at-home parents, educators, etc. These adults have a wide range of skills and training, yet they all come to invest their time and their lives in students from 6th grade to college. These leaders participate in the program each week at church. They go on summer spiritual formation trips with these students. They attend band concerts, cross country meets, dance recitals, and hockey games. The time they take to be with students in life and in Bible studies helps students feel seen and loved. They lead Bible studies and discussions with grace, and students seek them out to explore deep questions, discussing relationships and decisions. Leaders pray for students and are prayed for by students. Leaders answer questions, and they learn from the insight and perspective of students, too.
In turn, many of these students serve as leaders in Children’s Ministries. They partner with other adults to invest in younger kids―birth through 5th grade―in the nursery, in Sunday School classes, and in Vacation Bible School. Students make up a third of our Children’s Ministries leader team. They pour themselves into younger kids the way their parents and leaders invest in them. The younger kids look up to them, greet them with bear hugs in the hallways, and enthusiastically tell stories about the games they play and the things they learn from their big kid friends. Students are partners with us in the gospel, and they learn from kids, too, all the while affirming their faith and being assured that they have a valuable role in our church family.
We have older people who pray for our ministries and the people in our congregation. They serve as greeters and learn the names of younger people in the congregation, listening to stories about our lives and kids. Many are facing difficult health challenges, heartache in family situations, or grief of many kinds, yet as they continue walking with Jesus, they encourage our church family. They have passed the baton of leadership to a new generation, yet they remain engaged, cheering on those who are coming after them, reminding us to stay close to Jesus and to trust his Word. They make room for new approaches to ministry, as we continue the mission they own with us.
My friend John is an inspiration to many. Although he’s naturally an introvert, he prayerfully seeks people out for conversations. It might be a new person at church or a worker at a coffee shop. He prepares by praying that the Holy Spirit would give him good questions to ask. He listens to podcasts to be aware of what young people are interested in, so he can be ready to connect those interests and questions to conversations about Jesus in meaningful ways. He anticipates sharing his faith with someone who feels far from God, as well as helping young believers be anchored in God’s Word and equipped to follow Jesus. He simply makes himself available and offers what he can.
Experiencing the gospel in intergenerational contexts is powerful. In smaller congregations, it may come more naturally to live as a family. Larger congregations can often get segregated by age groups. While there are important reasons to learn with our peers, the gospel is a rich treasure for us to share together across generations. Each of these relational connections matters. The gospel unites us as a people and mobilizes us. It is a precious partnership unrestricted by labels or age. As we live and serve together, we see the gospel’s power and truth impacting our church family through every season.
Rev. Brian Quade is Executive Pastor at Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church in Eau Claire, WI.
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