In the final part of their series looking at intergenerational church, Suzi Farrant and Darren Philip consider the power of stories.

THE Christian faith is filled with stories.

From the very first verse of Genesis, our Scriptures are packed with the stories of God and God’s people. Jesus proclaimed his kingdom by telling stories. The first Christian communities came into being because stories were shared among people. Lives are still transformed today when people share their stories. Stories matter. Stories help us to understand ourselves, the world and our place in it. More than a means of conveying ideas or history, stories are things of great power, for the stories we tell ourselves ultimately shape who we become.

What story is the church today telling itself? All too easily our story can become one of segregation, scarcity and decline. As we watch numbers fall, finances decrease and membership age, this narrative is fed. On top of that, the Covid-19 pandemic and process of structural reform have left many feeling sapped of energy and resilience. That these things have become the church’s story is understandable, but this story of scarcity does not tally with the God of abundance who we follow.

As ancient Israel learned the story of a God who provided water from rock, manna and quails in the desert and a fiery pillar to guide through even the darkest of nights, so the church today can affirm its belief in a God who brings us through suffering into joy; a God of life, not death; a God of hope, not despair; a God of power and grace. Recognising a God of love who longs to lead their people into new heavens and new earth leads us to see that God is calling the church into a new story: a story focussed on and filled with faith, hope and love.

Over the last six months, we’ve set out our belief that God is calling us to this new story intergenerationally, intentionally bringing the generations together in mutual serving, sharing or learning within the core activities of the church in order to live out being the body of Christ to each other and the greater community. We’ve identified some practices core to being an intergenerational church: humility, hospitality, place-sharing relationships, learning, discipleship, joy, worship, transformation, discernment and testimony. There’s nothing new here: these have been the practices of the church since its inception and there are many more that could be added to these: Scripture study, decision-making, stewardship, prayer, singing, silence…

Nor is there anything new about intergenerational faith communities: from the covenant gathering in Deuteronomy 29, to the assembly in Nehemiah 8, to the boy Jesus in the Temple in Luke 2, to early Christian communities in Acts 21, the people of God has always involved a mix of generations. Being intergenerational is part of the DNA of the church. When in the 1950s and 60s we began segregating our worshipping congregations by age, we ended up with a genetically-modified version of church! The church’s new story is a recovery of our DNA and happens when all ages share life together.

What does this new intergenerational church story look like? If you’re hoping that what follows is a ten-step plan or how-to guide, then we are sorry to disappoint. ‘How’ to do intergenerational church will vary according to each context and it is important that each of us engages in the work of contextualising the principles and practices to our own communities – we can’t do that for you. We can however highlight some hallmarks that characterise the new story we can enter into together.

We believe that God is calling us to be a church led by the Spirit. There is no ‘junior’ Holy Spirit or a specified age at which the Holy Spirit becomes known to us. There are no exams we need to pass in order for the Spirit to work through us, rather the Spirit is freely, graciously and abundantly given. In the church’s new story, everyone – no matter their age – is empowered and led by the Spirit, allowing our focus to be on God’s transformation of people and communities and how we join in with that; on ‘being’ the church rather than ‘saving’ the church.

We believe that God is calling us to be a church in unity. In a bid to make everyone happy, congregations have often fragmented their life into numerous different programmes, all for slightly different groups of people. Some of these may exist at the centre of church life, others (often those involving younger age groups) at the margins. Rethinking our story offers us a chance to come together, to celebrate difference and to recognise the insights of God that different age groups can offer one another when all are united.

We believe that God is calling us to be a church of disciples, where everyone (including children) is embraced as both disciple and disciple-maker. In this new story, children and young people are recognised not only as the church of the future but embraced as the church of today. All ages regard one another as teachers as well as learners, so intergenerational worship and discipleship become the default setting of church life, not just reserved for special occasions.

We believe that God is calling us to be a relational church, recognising that Christ is present in our relationships. In this new story, relationships are not used to influence the beliefs or behaviours of others, but are recognised as revelatory: the place we encounter the living Christ. Relationships are self-giving, not self-serving, and flourish across difference, in particular across any perceived barriers of age.

We believe that God is calling us to be an experiential church, where the emphasis for all ages is on knowing God rather than knowing about God. Instead of segregating by age where children learn while adults worship, the church will value the participation of all ages in both as necessary practices of life-long discipleship. We believe that God is calling us to be a prophetic church, where all ages speak truth to power, act to bring about God’s kingdom on earth and share God’s Word with the world. The church’s new story involves living together in a way that makes no sense without the Gospel: refusing to sit by and watch the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, hearing the cries of younger generations for action on climate change and tolerance for all. Being intergenerational combines wisdom and naivete, age-old insight with fresh perspective.

We believe that God is calling us to be a missional church, where young and old together discern and participate in God’s mission in the local community and the world. Being intergenerational is not only for those already within the church community: it is invitational and requires a culture of sharing faith across generations and with those in our communities.

It turns out the church’s new story isn’t that new after all: to love the world as Christ first loved us, to share our faith and enable our communities to encounter Jesus. The story of being an intergenerational church is exciting and filled with faith, hope and love. Entering this story needn’t be frightening, as we are led and enabled by the one who invites us: ‘Follow me!’   

Being an Intergenerational Church: Practices to Bring the Generations Back Together will be published in September by Saint Andrew Press.