How Do We Make Worship Truly Intergenerational?

Why do churches divide people by age?

“Nobody ever talks or debates about whether adults should be in worship. But we do debate whether children should be heard or seen in worship. Yet God’s continuing self-revelation is not age-specific. Your children may experience a relationship with God long before they can articulate it,” says Steve Burger, director of children and family ministries in the Evangelical Covenant Church’s Christian formation department.

Churches too small to staff children’s programs during worship should take heart, according to Faith Communities Today 2005. This survey of 884 randomly sampled U.S. congregations found that keeping children with adults can help churches grow—if they also involve children in worship through speaking, reading, and performing.

Howard Vanderwell, Resource Development Specialist for
Pastoral Leadership at the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship and editor of a book about intergenerational worship, says, “The phrase ‘all generations’ appears 91 times in the Bible. Intergenerational worship has all ages present—embodying the truth that the whole church is the body of Christ.”

Steve Burger agrees. “Who or what we choose to exclude from our worship gatherings says as much about our community of faith as who or what we choose to include. And, really, does excluding anyone make sense when you realize we’re spending an eternity together?”

What does your church do well for intergenerational worship? Speak, sing, dance, pray, listen…children can do all of these things too. The sermon is not the only way we hear the Word at worship. The goal for anyone planning worship is to provide plenty of connecting points between the worshipper and God.

Read the entire article “Vital Worship”

• As a whole, does your worship speak to everyone present?
• Does it engage all of the senses?
• Where could your worship service improve so that the whole family of God can worship together?