Presented By: Samantha Trimble Written By: Steve Burger Evangelical Covenant Church Copyright 2013

is an international movement within the church that addresses the exodus of children from the church. We help local churches and ministries in continually shaping discipleship so that it is increasingly home-centered and church- assisted, as opposed to our more prevalent outsourcing, church-focused mindset. breaks down the walls of the church and works to be the antidote to the hypocrisy that has been turning our children away from the faith.

The Reality:  Fewer than 10% of parents who regularly attend church with their kids read the Bible together, pray together (other than at meal times) or participate in an act of service as a family unit.  Only 28% of churched youth have talked with mom about faith. Only 13% of churched youth have talked with dad about faith.  Yet the same studies also show that mom & dad are the top 2 spiritual influencers of their children and any faith formation that happens at home is 2-3x more effective. The Result of This Disparity:  69-94% of evangelical children are leaving the church shortly after they finish high school.

 Intergenerational Ministry is not the goal  Following the heart of God into the world is the goal  Christ established the Body of Christ to this end  The Body of Christ includes all generations, living, loving, caring, and ministering together in the world  We cannot fulfill God’s will in the world separately

 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, (Rom. 12:3-4)  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Mt. 19:14)  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 18:3)  Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the L ORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered, “Here I am.” “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the L ORD ; let him do what is good in his eyes.”(1 Sam. 3:15-18)

Institution  Value organization  What do I belong to?  What are my choices?  What can the church do for me?  Right thinking  They are stealing my church  Focus: Organization and programs  Organized  Value people  Who do we belong to?  How can I engage with others?  How can we care for others?  Deeper relationships with God and others  Who has God called us to be?  Focus: Relationship and Community  Messy Body

 People don’t know each other  Creates factions and an “us and them” mentality  Lack of balance between peer and intergenerational ministry  Isolation of generations as mini-churches  Children and youth lack bonding with the body  Young adults stepping out of the church  Older generations feeling loss and isolation  Stifles presence, engagement, and voice  We are not fully functioning as Christ’s body

 The church’s job is to partner with parents by equipping them and joining in the journey of discipling our kids. (1 Timothy 5)  The authors of Sticky Faith, Kara Powell & Dr. Chap Clark, encourage flipping our adult to child ratios from 1:5 to 5:1, because their research has shown that another key factor that sets children up for lifelong faith is a strong network of intergenerational relationships with adult believers.  They, in fact, said that “The closest our research has come to that definitive silver bullet is this sticky finding: for high school and college students, there is a relationship between attendance at church-wide worship services and Sticky Faith….And while our research didn’t specifically examine the effect…on younger children, our guess is that it’s not just the teenagers who benefit from that inter-age connection.”

 Intergenerational ministry is built through relationship  God’s transforming activity is present in every relationship  Shared intergenerational experiences lead to shared story and shared identity  Intergenerational ministry includes presence, engagement and voice

 Presence  Engagement  Voice

 Who is present in our gatherings and ministries?  Who is missing?  Who could be present?

 We need to be intentional in our efforts to engage everyone  Foster an environment where everyone knows they are valued  Provide opportunities for everyone to question and explore their faith  Encourage the generations to minister together in fulfilling the will of God

 Children: a need to participate and belong  Youth: a need to be recognized, a need for understanding identity, and role  Early Adults: a need to belong to a community that is making a difference in the world and is authentic in it’s relationships  Adults: Friendships, connections for children, meaning, purpose  Senior Adults: Assurance, constancy, care  Every generation has a need to be valued and loved

 The Seven Learning Styles  Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.  Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.  Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.  Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.  Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.  Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.  Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self- study.

Giving voice to each generation? Engaging each generation?

Give Voice to each generation? Engage each generation?

 Shared Experience  Shared Story  Shared Identity

 What experiences are currently being shared among the generations?  Where and how is the story being shared?  What is the current identity of the church among the generations?

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

 Christian formation is our continuing journey of being transformed by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Christ, experiencing and expressing love for God and others.

 God’s Word: Illuminated by the Spirit. John 14:26  Relationships: United by the Spirit. 1 John 4:13  Outward Action: Directed by the Spirit. John 16:13  Worship: Ignited by the Spirit. John 4:24

 GROW  Encouraging interaction between generations  Assess who is present, engaged and given voice in existing ministry  Offer shared experience leading to a shared story and identity  Encourage Faith-Life Conversations  Opportunities to share story  Worship together  Encourage interaction outside the confines of the church facility

 Target  Following the Heart of God into the World  GROW  Greater awareness of the Spirit  Greater sense of God’s heart and mission  Presence, Engagement and Voice  Stronger community of faith and connection to the world  Shared Experience, Story and Identity  Lived out discipleship among the generations  On going sense and reality of mission  Stronger and broader identity in Christ