Sixteen churches in the Diocese of Guildford are seeing the benefits of intergenerational worship thanks to making lasting changes to their services and activities.
The Church of England’s Rooted in Church research shows that churches that encouraged intergenerational connections, and worship and youth that felt involved and connected to the larger church, had a much greater chance of remaining in church post-secondary school.
The Diocese’s mission team offers support to churches who wish to make positive changes to better integrate young and older generations in their worship. The collection of churches meets termly to share innovations and best practice.
One church that has had some recent success is The Bourne Parish, Farnham. The church has several young congregants who sing in the choir, but Revd Sandy Clarke wanted to ensure they could be more involved in the wider church community.
The church made simple but visible changes including allowing the girls choir to wear their regular clothes rather than robes, so they looked like part of one united congregation. They also made the church environment more informal and welcoming with cushioned chairs at the front which could be moved and stacked to enable a more flexible worship space. In addition, the vicar led a ‘blessing of the back packs’ for a back-to-school Sunday Service to support their children into the new school term. The service was followed by ice cream.
The result of this more intergenerational approach meant that the church was full of families.
Speaking of a recent service, Revd Sandy Clarke said:
“It was amazing. We had 22 children and 111 adults, and it felt like the church was full of children. Two young teenage boys who haven't been around for a while told me how much they liked the service and decided to join our confirmation group which is starting soon.”
The Children and Families Mission Enabler, Emma Coy, Diocese of Guildford said:
“We are delighted that our parishes are seeing such positive results from integrating the generations. We would love to see intergenerational church become the default, as we know it helps both young and older people grow and deepen their faith.”
Top Tips for adopting an intergenerational church
- Involve your congregation in regularly praying for children, young people and their families and talk about the important role of parents, grandparents, godparents etc. in sermons.
- Create ways to intentionally bring different generations together. This could be for worship, although helping people make those connections outside of your worship services may also be fruitful.
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When you do worship intergenerationally, aim to create a service that is engaging for children and meaningful for all.
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Connect different generations around shared interests. This could be a love of nature (outdoor worship works brilliantly intergenerationally) or an enjoyment of music.
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Involve children and young people in serving alongside adults in meaningful ways. Could families be asked to help with the churchyard clear up with child-sized tools provided? Could a family be invited to lead intercessions or do a reading together? Could children help your welcome team hand out the service sheets?
For advice and support on growing an intergenerational church visit resources for intergenerational ministry and contact Emma Coy