Young Christians, you need older Christians in your life!
Most churches, especially as they get larger, tend to have specialised children, youth and young adult ministries. If a church is large enough, perhaps it will also have a dedicated youth or university student worship service. At the other end of the demographic scale, it is common to see ministries or services aimed at shall we say more mature believers. This all makes a great deal of sense sociologically. Everyone gets to be with a group they are comfortable with. Each ministry can be tailored for a narrow audience, making things like music choices or teaching style simpler. So what’s the problem?
The problem is that the Bible’s description of church is so much broader than this. The ‘one another’ commands in the letters are not limited to people in the same demographic as us. We are to love and serve one another, and build one another up, regardless of the other person’s gender, age or marital status. The church is intended to be diverse.
We even see direct instruction about intergenerational ministry in the pastoral epistles, with younger men to learn from older men and younger women to learn from older women. This kind of ministry will be impossible in many church settings as the older people and the younger people are not even in the same worship service as one another!
Having different generations in the same room doesn’t automatically fix the problem, of course. Even in a mixed-demographic congregation, young adults often stay together, and older people stay together. We gravitate to people like ourselves.
If you are younger, realise that you need the influence of the older people in your church. If you want to learn how to navigate issues like starting work, dating, handling money, or becoming more independent, people the same age as you won’t be the best place to turn. Ask those who have been through this before. The older people in your church are a great resource for all kinds of issues you will face in life, as well as in their understanding of Scripture and living a life serving King Jesus.
Don’t assume the other generation is responsible for bridging the gap. You make the first step. If young people wait for older people to talk to them, and older people do the same for younger people, nothing will change! Talk to people of a different generation next Sunday. You will find you have more in common than you expect.
Look for opportunities to build friendships between generations. Join a home group that is not demographic specific. Share a meal with someone who is not naturally like you. The more we do this in the local church, the more we are taking advantage of the strength we have in being a diverse family together.