All tagged children
While this is only a short list of ideas, my hope is that these suggestions offer a point of reference for what intentional intergenerationality could look like in your church as you think through your own context. Regardless of how your church seeks to include children more intentionally within its worship practices, the most important point is to start somewhere so that you can embody being a church where all God’s people gather.
One idea to reach the community is through outreach events, or “bridge events.” These events are designed to invite neighbors, colleagues, and community members, giving them a chance to come through our doors. The fall and winter seasons are great times to plan some of these events.
Parents, as you face this milestone event, remember that the very term “empty nest syndrome” indicates that it is a very big deal.
If we are to help our children find their place in God’s unfolding story, one of our priorities must be ensuring that our children know that God is big enough to handle all of the questions.
One church welcomes children as full participants in Christian fellowship, creating a true intergenerational fabric of faith community which exceeds merely worshipping in the same room.
As we prepare to enter into difficult seasons of life may we take the lesson from my son: Love is NEVER the wrong response.
As churches seek to support the development of a lifelong embedded faith, it will undoubtedly be a journey that requires perseverance and a willingness to challenge practices.
Adopt the attitude of a small child. Rely on our heavenly Father. Reaching up to take hold of his hand, you can let him guide you through the storm.
How is my own practice of Christian faith shaping my values, attitudes, and behaviors? Decline certainly calls for renewal. Yet renewal begins with me.
Tell how God’s work has been displayed in scripture, in your own life, and in the lives of others. These stories, even the old ones, are worth telling because of the eternal impact they can make.
Kids are under intense pressure and stress. Due to their limited vocabulary and inability to express themselves, kids experiencing stress are often overlooked.
Imagine being that boy who offered up his five loaves of bread and two fish. His willingness and generosity to give up his meal instigated the miracle.
By loving the way God loves and acting as God would act, our resemblance becomes so great that it leaves no doubt we are the children of God.
Friday is National Lemonade Day, so buy an extra cup and share it in Jesus’s name, confident that it makes a difference for eternity.
Can anyone else relate to the image of crossing a river, standing on stones you’ve just thrown into the river from the comfort of the riverbank?
Remember the song, “Make new friends and keep the old; one is silver and the other’s gold”? All are precious partners in God’s mission.
The community of faith is able to truly embody unceasing prayer when we acknowledge the joint prayers of Christians around the world and throughout Christian history.
As church leaders, parents, and invested adults, I know we all see this need for supporting children through times of grief. I want to share a little perspective and some resources that I pray you find helpful.
If we acknowledge the physical and/or emotional constraints that limit our capacity, then we also become intentional about focusing our ministry around these essentials and doing so in whatever format works.
Gratitude, simplicity, taking time. How difficult it can be to digest our own advice; how often we remain shielded from the perspectives of others. Pause; breathe.
