Making Cross-Generational Ministry a Priority

We have heard a great deal about multi-generational churches in recent years but are our churches truly living this out? Mark Scanlan recently contributed this excellent article about ecclesiology and youth ministry. In my experience, all of the spaces that student ministries occupy are distant from the other significant ministries in the church. From basements to separate buildings, it can seem like we are separating the students on purpose. With the separation, it can be challenging to push students to make relationships with adults and vice versa. Church generational separation causes us to forget how biblically, theologically, and practically crucial cross-generational ministry is.

So what is multi-generational ministry? It is a church that has multiple generations represented together in one place at one time functioning as the church. A church that is multi-generational may or may not be unified, appreciative of one another, or engaging one another. We should strive to have churches that have healthy mixes of different ages and generations. In this, we must be honest and ask, “are our multi-generational churches regularly interacting, engaging, and discipling one another?” We can hope but it is rarer than we think.

This is where we change the way we talk and think, transitioning from multi-generational language into cross-generational language. What is cross-generational ministry? It is a ministry that involves regular interaction, engagement, and discipleship between and across generations. Throughout Scripture, we see this form of ministry as the most effective.

To the people of Israel, God commanded both parents to teach the Words of the Shema, “diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:7, ESV). This effort was not just made by the parents alone, it was a collective effort by the nation of Israel for the children of Israel.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says to “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God…” (Luke 16:17, ESV)

In his letter to Timothy, Paul says to “not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.” (1 Timothy 5:1-2, ESV)

Paul doubles down in his letter to Titus saying, “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.” (Titus 2:2-7, ESV)

Each of these verses reminds us that the church is supposed to be cross-generational, not just multi-generational. For me, cross-generational ministry has mattered greatly. Had it not been for the loving kindness and willingness of some of the older men in my church growing up to regularly offer their wise counsel and take me out for meals, I am not sure I would have recognized the call to ministry in my life.

One man I am forever grateful for is Ken. Ken is an older man who shared great wisdom with me throughout my youth. Ken regularly took me out for meals and helped me understand the love of God and what it meant to surrender life to him. He is a godly example of what it looks like to steward our gifts and callings for the glory of God. I will never be completely sure what Ken saw in me but whatever it was, I am immensely grateful for his impact on my life.

Student pastors, we should take the lead in making cross-generational ministry a priority in our churches. Can this ministry quickly devolve into one-sided service projects? Of course! But that only happens with our permission. If we cast a vision for discipleship and relationship growth, the cross-generational ministry in our church will look surprisingly different. We will desire to see stronger bonds formed between young people and older adults, we will help create a greater respect for the saints who have led the church, and we will be instrumental in developing a generation of leaders who will continue to guide the local church in God-honoring, Kingdom-minded ways.   

With this in mind, I want to offer two challenges for us all in 2022. My prayer is that with these in mind, we, as youth pastor theologians, can develop successful cross-generational ministries.

Help equip older members on how to build bridges with younger members

More often than not, we, are hired to be the bridge between the older and younger generations in our churches. Our responsibility is not to be the only one students ever hear from or relate to. Rather, we help build the bridge between the generations. Part of effective cross-generational ministry means investing the time to help equip different generations in developing relationships.

In the most basic form, this means helping older generations understand and relate to younger generations and encouraging them to share how they themselves have grown in their walk with the Lord. It is reminding younger generations of the great wisdom that older men and women can impart to them and getting them to set aside their “Okay, Boomer” attitude. This means part of our week-to-week responsibility is taking time to invest in those we want to invest in our students.

Create Spaces Where Cross-Generational Ministry Can Happen

One of the best things we can do as student ministry leaders is to cultivate cross-generational ministry. This goes beyond a bingo game or intergenerational activities. For example, you can host a night where younger people teach older men and women how to use new technology, or a time for older people teaching younger people how to have life skills (like cooking, knitting, and how to change your car oil). Take the lead on helping create environments where young people and older people can learn and study the Word together. When Paul writes to Timothy and Titus for older people to teach younger people and for younger people to honor and help older generations, he means it. This won’t happen by accident. It will require intentional effort.

A few simple ways of doing this are mixing small-group so they are not always centered around age, doing a temporary church-wide study with group made up of all all generations, or even focusing on permanent cross-generational classes. Other areas may include social activities where generations are encouraged to sit with other generations, this might happen in a church potluck or even in a non-Sunday morning worship service/event. In all we do through cross generational ministry, we should work to disrupt common stereotypes about generations so that our ministry can be effective and fruitful.

We, as student pastors, should be the primary advocates for cross-generational ministry. Let us help lead the generations that make up our churches into stronger relationships with one another in order to advance the Kingdom-mindset and movement of the church. No single group can maintain the church on their own, we need one another, let our ministry priorities reflect this