Intergenerational Support in the Congregation and Further

In the times of church attendance decline that we see across the nation and globe, the amount of younger generational people who are transitioning away from organized religion as a whole, and the many people who embark on the process of “deconstructing” their faith, many young people are left asking, “How can we be supported in times like these” and likewise many of the older generations may ask, “How can we support the youth of today with our faith?” I want to propose three methods of assistance and support that the youth of today could benefit from and how that can come from a congregation full of wisdom and experience.

Today’s youth are often challenged with the harsh reality of life in newer ways than may have been seen 50 years ago, let alone even 10 years ago. The children of today are daily influenced through social media, ever changing social trends, lifestyle choices that have never been presented before, all the while attempting to maintain the challenges of growing up, school, puberty, maturation, and preparing for the adult world. Even young adults are presented with harsh challenges today, a looming recessional economy, rocket high inflation, the impossibility of home ownership, all while trying to become productive adults. These challenges that the youth of today face don’t even begin to bring in the temptations and struggle that youth may face walking with Christ, rising porn addiction, hookup culture, higher consumption of drug use, and a destruction of societal presense from the church in every day life. Young people are struggling with so many different points of pressure, but I want to present methods of assistance that can be given to walk with them.

Leadership:
Having recently been Married, Lindsay and I were incredibly blessed to have so many mature Christian marriages to look towards as leadership. We are of the minority of millenials who have no divorce in our families, going as far as 2-3 if not 4 generations of healthy marriages. We look to Pastor Glen and Cyndy who conducted our pre-marital counseling as well as Pastor Glen having officiated our ceremony. We look to the couples in the church who have sent us Wedding cards and offered us best wishes, tips and advice, all for the sake of supporting our union. This leadership is exactly what we needed as we began our marriage and this type of leadership is exactly what the youth of today need. The younger generations statistically are more likely than ever to come from a divorced household, are more than likely to have step siblings, and are more likely than any generation before to either divorce after marriage or never marry at all. The older generations are who younger people will look to for leadership in how to go through life, whether these moments are marriage, child raising, job support, or ultimately how to walk with Christ. As a younger person myself, I look to older generational people for leadership, how to be a better husband, how to provide for my family, and that happens very safely in the church, it is where leadership opportunities come.

Inspiration:
I love listening to the stories my grandparents tell me of growing up during the cold war, Korea and Vietnam, and what life was like during that period of time. I love hearing the memories shared from elders of what their life was like as it is a living glimpse into the past. For many people in my generation, we hardly remember 9/11, let alone the falling of the Berlin Wall, life during the South Pacific wars, the life before modern technology. Needless to say, my generation is constantly on their technology devices and are encapsulated with the stories of other people across the globe, but so many of use don’t even know how our parents and grandparents met, how our family started, or even where we lived before our memories kicked in. Share the stories you know with the younger generation. Share the stories you have of your faith with the younger generation, living during the great revival, the rise of the gospel quartets, how your life history was impactful to your faith.

Understanding:
As I mentioned in the beginning, the world the younger people are entering as adults is quite a challenging one, political and social pressure from every angle, economic impacts that spell impossible odds, and a world that is turning ever more against Christ. When I would hear stories of my former middle schoolers lives outside of school, I had less than a handful of students ever talk about their life in church, or their faith. As the younger generations grow up, take time to listen to their stories of life, what they are seeing in their path that may challenge them, and trust their genuinity that life may be much different than when the older generations were in their positions. Things have changed, economies have shifted and swayed, wars have been waged, and politicians still lie, but our constant is Christ, it is the cornerstone of our community, the rock of our faith, and it is what binds us to one another as members of the same body. Younger generations and older generations should be praying for one another and trying to understand one another better. Our church strives to reach all people of all nations, but a part of church life that most churches are challenged with in this era is intergenerational fellowship. We don’t always understand each other but we should learn to better understand one another.

A challenge to leave you with is this: How would you best like to see your children or grandchildren be mentored in the church? And to follow up with that question, are you the mentor that you would like to see in the church? While The Fount does not have a large attendance of younger people, we can start that through inviting our families, our friends families, kids and grandkids or even greatgrandkids. Then follow up on it, through intentional actions to mentor the younger generation. A very special part of our life having been married recently are Bob and Pauline who have always made the effort to check in with us on how our marriage is going and asking us how we are doing. It is such a simple thing but it makes a world of difference in knowing that there are people supporting you and praying for you.

So go forth and connect with someone, neighbors, grandkids, friends and their families, and shine the light of Christ to a generation that increasingly has been left in the dark.