Fellowship: Key number two to revitalization
Blog post by Justin Nash
This is the second post in a series that will examine five key revitalization strategies for the local church. (See the first post here). Each of these strategies is intended to deepen the overall spiritual character of the church, because a deepening of the culture and spiritual character of the people of the church is likely the best and most effective means of overcoming major obstructions to renewal. As the Lord deepens and instructs his people, the deficiencies, threats and necessary changes should become clearer. This post will consider the role of intergenerational fellowship in revitalization.
The gap between the older and younger members of the congregation must be addressed.
The second key strategy will be in the area of intergenerational fellowship. Fellowship is a key characteristic of a healthy church as evidenced by Acts 2:42 in which the early church in Jerusalem “devoted themselves to fellowship.” The concept of fellowship in the church is seen extensively in the New Testament (2 Cor. 6:14; 13:13; Gal. 2:9; Phil. 3:10; 1 Jn. 1:3). The critical element of fellowship in revitalizing churches that needs to be addressed is the gap between the older and younger members of the congregation.
First, this is important for church unity. Jesus was clear that his church was to be unified (John 17:22-23). Unity in the church was also a common theme for the apostle Paul. For example, he wrote to the church at Ephesus that the church ought to “be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Second, one of the pictures of the church is that of a family. It seems clear that a church ought to be comprised of multiple generations just like an extended family. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Timothy 5:1-2). From this it seems to be normative that a church will be comprised of a continuum of generations.
Bridging the gap will move the church forward by combining wisdom and experience with youthful exuberance.
Bridging the gap between the generations in a revitalizing church will serve to move the church toward renewal in a few ways. First, it will serve to unify the church overall, which is always positive. Second, multigenerational relationships can be powerful in the life of a church. The older members have experience, wisdom and resources, and the younger members have energy and enthusiasm. So, the generations can be complementary in the work and ministry of the church. Also, the generations can act as a corrective for one another. The wisdom and experience of older members can serve as a necessary governor to restrain some of the youthful exuberance. At the same time, that youthful energy and exuberance can spur the sometimes more complacent older members to action. At its best, the generations will sharpen one another (Proverbs 27:17). Finally, it helps the older members to have a stake in the future of the church and not just its past. This allows both the older and younger members to see the older generation as the foundation of the renewal efforts rather than scaffolding which will be tossed away when it is no longer needed.
Obstacles can be overcome by scriptural teaching and active reconciliation.
Two obstacles must be overcome here, one attitudinal and the other practical. Very often, the younger generation tends to see the older generation as complacent, controlling and obstructionist when it comes to any changes at the church. The older generation tends to look at the younger generation in a patronizing way that devalues the contributions and ideas of that younger generation. The second obstacle to overcome is practical in nature. The younger members all work and some have families with small children. They are very busy with life and have limited time to dedicate to church activities. The older members are empty nesters and often retired and, as a result, have significant discretionary time.
Addressing these intergenerational fellowship issues will require clear biblical instruction on how Christians are to relate to one another generally, most notably with love and selflessness. It will also require the pastor and other church members to take an active role in the reconciliation process. The older members need to see themselves as counselors and equippers to prepare the younger generation to faithfully follow Christ and to steward the church. The elders must truly listen to the ideas of the younger members and give those younger members opportunities to lead and to try different things, even if they fail. On the other side, the younger members must be taught to treat the older members with respect, to listen to them thoughtfully and even to actively seek their advice. One thing that must be avoided and cannot be tolerated is language that is pejorative or accusatory. The logistical issues mean that times for fellowship and serving together will have to be at night or on the weekends. The D-Group model proposed in an earlier post could be most beneficial here as the D-Groups can easily be intergenerational in nature. More opportunities need to be created for intergenerational relationships to develop. Most importantly, this is an area that must be thoroughly prayed over. The unity and future of the church are at stake.
Intergenerational fellowship isn't just Biblical, but it's critical to revitalization.
Most declining churches have few young people and young families. Creating strong bonds of fellowship between the older members who are in a majority and the younger members who are in the minority is a critical element in revitalizing a church. Strong families have strong relationships across the generations, and a healthy church will be comprised of a continuum of ages and life stages. Each generation has something to contribute to and learn from the other. Not only is this good for the church and its members, God is glorified when his people love one another and live together in unity.