Intergenerational Ministry Can Change Your Church: 5 Ideas

Resolved: this will be the year our church reimagines our ministry with and for older adults. If you could have written that sentence, here are a few intergenerational ministry ideas to get you started:

1. Embrace the boom! Harness baby boomers’ desire for purpose and capacity for leadership by engaging them in ministry. A growing ministry movement focused on evangelizing unaffiliated boomers recognizes them as a potential source of church growth — and a key to attracting millennials.

2. Create a caregiver respite ministry. Give caregivers a break and those in their care an outing to anticipate. Here’s how one church did it.

3. Revitalize your entire congregation through intergenerational worship. A Fuller Youth Institute studyfound that fostering intergenerational relationships and worship is the most effective method of supporting mature faith in young people.

4. Become a dementia-friendly church. Join the international movement to be open and welcoming to people with dementia and their families. Visit http://spiritualityanddementia.weebly.com/ for self-guided training materials and tools.

5. Recognize life transitions. Use ritual to mark and honor transitions: retirement; the transfer of care of a family member; the blessing of a new home.

Want to do more? Support Seabury by volunteering with usor by becoming a congregational partner in our work. Contact Elizabeth Boyd, Congregational Resources Coordinator, eboyd@seaburyresources.org. Featured photo by Mel Aclaro.