ATSS: Steve Case, “Why Would People Come to My Church? The Case for Intergenerational Worship”
13 December 2023 |
We usually state it in the negative: “Why don’t people go to church?” or “Why have people stopped coming to church?” We can view the other side of the coin by stating it in the positive: “Why do people go to church?” Those who have experienced the hemorrhaging of young people in their congregation could ask, “Why would young people want to come to my church?”
We think about this and come up with answers personally, but we rarely ask others. Occasionally one element makes the difference, but more often it can be seen as a constellation or possibly an ebb and flow.
You may have heard about a new term that’s as old as Bible times: intergenerational church. Some call it “messy church.” That sounds true to scripture! Most churches are intergenerational to some extent, but they could also do much better, and experience spiritual and numerical growth by doing so. Let’s be more intentional about this—the way God is.
Teacher:
Steve Case has spent most of his life in different forms of youth ministry and intergenerational church. Recent publications include Relational Bible Studies that can be downloaded for free at RelationalBibleStudies.com and lessons on finding Jesus in the Book of Revelation (Revelation101.com). He’s also done a paraphrase of Steps to Christ, called Connection: How to Have a Relationship with God.
Moderator:
Linda Nottingham lives in Florida, and teaches an adult Bible study class on Zoom for her church. She is semiretired, but serves as a mentor to women business owners.
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Coming up:
- Tom deBruin
- Martin Webber
- Jim Wibberding
- Laurence Turner
- Andreas Bochman
