When All God's People Gather
When I think of worship in the gathered assembly, I am inspired by the ways an episode in Israel's history shows us how worship can be meaningful for all of God's people. As it says in Deuteronomy:
You stand assembled today, all of you, before the Lord your God—the leaders of your tribes, your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, your children, your women, and the aliens who are in your camp . . . to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, sworn by an oath, which the Lord your God is making with you today, in order that he may establish you today as his people and that he may be your God, as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. (Deut 29:10-13)
As Holly Catterton Allen reminds us in her seminal work, Intergenerational Christian Formation, “When Israel gathered for important events—even critical moments—all the generations were present.”[1] Intergenerational community is demonstrated throughout Scripture in many different ways, and yet it is a practice that I am not sure we explore enough in our churches today. With thoughtful and good ministries that are geared toward different ages and stages of life, it can be easy to overlook the important transformational aspects that are the result of intentionally intergenerational communities of faith.
Now, before I continue, please allow me to start with a clarification. I am not saying that we should do away with all age-and-stage forms of ministry. Ministries that focus on children, youth, and adults are also beneficial to spiritual formation. However, what I want to challenge us to consider is whether we are also creating opportunities for the important formational elements that emerge out of intergenerationality to be a part of our churches as well. This can occur in a multitude of ways, but one of the most impactful is when we engage children in intergenerational worship.
There is a profound opportunity for faith formation when all God’s people come together in worship. By intentionally including children in worship, they assume a greater role than that of mere spectators—they become active participants in the life of the church. This has a lasting impact on the spiritual formation of the child because it fosters a sense of belonging and importance that is essential for spiritual formation.
However, it has a deep impact throughout the whole of the congregation as well. Intergenerationality is signaled by a recognition of mutuality and reciprocity. It honors the myriad of ways that each generation can shape the others. As Westerhoff asserts, “Worship, therefore, is at the center of the church’s life,”[2] and it was central in the biblical tradition. With worship at the heart of who we are as the people of God, isn’t it essential that we gather as a whole community to participate in this practice that transcends age and stage?
Worship is one of the most foundational aspects of faith, and it plays a central role in helping God’s people connect with God. However, when it comes to including children in worship in a meaningful way (and meaningful is the important word here), many congregations feel challenged by that prospect. It feels daunting. In fact, when I visit with those who lead worship, the most common question asked is, “How do I do this?” And my first response is always, “It’s not as hard as you think. Just find one place to start.”
What could that “one place” be? While each church is different and the contextual realities matter, my hope is that these suggestions will generate ideas for what might work in your own setting.
Song
In an effort not to hear the phrase “why are we singing this song again,” song leaders try to diligently keep from repeating songs too often. However, when a song is repeated regularly, it makes it possible for the children of the congregation to learn the song and begin singing along with the church. What if there was a song that your church repeated weekly until it became familiar? And once that song was familiar, a different one could then become the focus. This would be a meaningful practice that would not only include the younger generations but those newer to church as well.
My church regularly hosts a hymn sing, and it is attended by people of all ages. One way to encourage intergenerationality is to ask for song suggestions and then to “advertise” who requested a particular song. The children who made the request will experience a tangible expression of belonging as an active part of the church.
Prayer
Without intending to, churches often fall into a pattern of worship from which they rarely diverge. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it can limit the way they carry out the different acts of worship. For example, a prayer regularly takes on a similar format—one person at the front of the church offering up a prayer on behalf of the congregation. However, what if the church engaged in a call-and-response prayer where the church and the leader alternate? The leader offers a portion of prayer and the congregation follows with, “Lord, hear our prayer,” and so on and so forth.
There are also opportunities for children to lead a prayer during worship or to co-pray alongside an adult. Yes, there is preparation that might need to be done (e.g., talking about the importance of prayer not just in an individual setting but as a faith community as well, etc.), but the preparation is equally as spiritually formative and impactful.
Scripture Reading
My suggestions for Scripture reading are very similar to the ones for prayer. Scripture, especially the Psalms, lends itself well to responsorial readings where the whole congregation can be involved.
Similarly, churches could invite children to read the Scripture passage for the church on a Sunday morning. Much like preparation for prayer, there is a transformational aspect to spending a week meditating on a particular passage as a person prepares to read it on a Sunday morning.
Sermon
As David Csinos points out in his book, A Gospel for All Ages: Teaching and Preaching with the Whole Church, the sermon is the portion of worship that has the most difficult time in terms of intentional intergenerationality. In fact, even churches who meaningfully include children throughout worship often shy away from doing so with respect to the sermon.[3] Those who do generally adopt the format of hosting a children’s sermon. This practice has the potential to be either formative (good) or superficial (not good), which is a conversation in and of itself. However, what if a preacher asked the Wednesday evening children’s classes to read through a particular passage of Scripture that would be used the following Sunday from a few different translations (e.g., NIrV, NLT, and The Message) and then respond to the passage through drawing, writing, or building something? The connection would be twofold: 1) the child would be engaging in the Scripture that would become part of the sermon on Sunday, and 2) on Sunday, the preacher could then weave responses from the class into the sermon message.
While this is only a short list of ideas, my hope is that these suggestions offer a point of reference for what intentional intergenerationality could look like in your church as you think through your own context. Regardless of how your church seeks to include children more intentionally within its worship practices, the most important point is to start somewhere so that you can embody being a church where all God’s people gather.
