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The Multigenerational Congregation by Gilbert R. Rendle Pdf
Congregations need to learn new cultural languages and practices in order to speak to and be heard by new generations of people. But how do congregations enter the wilderness of ministry with these new generations when many of those in the entourage do not appreciate the trip? In contrast to many writers about church growth, Rendle works with three important observations: (1) Most congregations are not "pure markets," discrete groups with uniform values and behaviors, that can be targeted to the exclusion of all other audiences; (2) Some of the differences and discomforts experienced in the congregation are based on the members' tenure, or length of membership, rather than their age; and (3) Leadership in congregations is not a matter of marketplace savvy but of spiritual authenticity in which we continue to shape our faith tradition to be heard and understood by a changing culture.
Intergenerational Christian Formation by Holly Catterton Allen,Christine Lawton,Cory L. Seibel Pdf
"One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts." —Psalm 145:4 Most churches and faith communities segment their ministries by age and generation. In some congregations, people may never interact with those of other ages. But it was not always so. Throughout biblical tradition and the majority of history, communities of faith included people of all ages together in corporate worship, education, and ministry. The church was not just multigenerational; it was intergenerational, with the whole church together as one family and people of all ages learning from one another in common life. The process of becoming Christlike does not happen alone, and intergenerational faith communities are designed for Christian formation. All generations are gifted parts of the body, and churches need all the parts. In this comprehensive text, Holly Allen, Christine Lawton, and Cory Seibel offer a complete framework for intentional intergenerational Christian formation. They provide the theoretical foundations for intergenerationality, showing how learning and spiritual formation are better accomplished through intergenerational contexts. Then the authors give concrete guidance for intergenerational praxis on how worship, learning, community, and service can all be achieved intergenerationally. Case studies of intergenerational congregations provide models for how a culture of intergenerationality can be created in local churches. This second edition has been revised and updated throughout with new empirical research, intergenerational spiritual practices, and Gen Z realities, with fresh stories of intergenerational formation both in the US and around the world. Discover the riches of intergenerational ministry, and let all generations commend the works of God to one another.
When you look at the church today, what do you see? A corporation with a CEO at the helm? A social organization that does good things for the community? Pastor Ross Parsley believes that neither of those pictures is God’s desire. Instead, God wants His church to function as a family—a group of real people who love each other and care for one another’s needs, no matter how messy. Our culture is dying for the kind of community that only the church can provide—if we are living as God intended: as a family, protecting one another, extending grace, and loving unconditionally. We are not called to be consumers who ask what the church can offer us. We are called to love deeply, fight fairly, and bring hope to a generation of people starving to belong to something greater than themselves. Welcome to the family. You belong here.
Engage All Generations suggests how every church can build on its potential and become a more vibrant witness of God’s Kingdom. Divided into three sections, the book focuses on key growth edges in the unfolding conversation about intergenerational ministry: “Learning and Growing Together,” “Praying and Playing Together,” and “Leading and Changing Together.” Practical, accessible, encouraging, and thought-provoking, this book provides the crucial next building block in our understanding of intergenerational ministry. It is sure to benefit congregations already engaged in fostering intergenerational approaches and those desiring to experiment with becoming intentionally intergenerational.
Leaders in Christian communities are all asking the same question: How can we bring the generations back together? InterGenerate addresses important questions of why we should bring the generations back together, but even more significantly, how we can bring generations back together. In this edited collection, ministers, church leaders, and Christian educators will find valuable, new generational theory perspectives, fresh biblical and theological insights, and practical outcomes backed by current research. InterGenerate offers important guidance on topics including •intergenerational spiritual disciplines, •transitioning from multigenerational to intergenerational, •new research that focuses directly on intergenerational ministry and offers practical outcomes to implement, and •benefits of intergenerational ministry for the most marginalized generations. An exciting and distinctive aspect of InterGenerate is the vast diversity of voice —men and women ranging in age from millennials to baby boomers, representing multiple countries and over a dozen denominations—all seeking ways to become more intentionally intergenerational in their outlook and practice.
In The Intergenerational Church, Peter Menconi shows you why understanding today's generations is crucial for the survival and thrival of the local church. But understanding the generations is not enough. In this book you will learn how to: - Minimize generational tension. - Get all the generations moving in the same direction. - Develop leaders from all generations. - Deliver intergenerational preaching. - Cultivate intergenerational worship and community. - Stimulate intergenerational mission and outreach.
A Future for the Latino Church by Daniel A. Rodriguez Pdf
Daniel Rodriguez argues that effective Latino ministry and church planting is now centered in second-generation, English-dominant leadership and congregations. Based on his observation of cutting-edge Latino churches across the country, Rodriguez reports on how innovative congregations are ministering creatively to the next generations of Latinos.
Learning God's Stories Together by Dorothy Henderson Pdf
In this valuable resource, Dorothy Henderson explains, encourages and enables all-ages learning. People looking for help in developing an all-ages learning program will be heartened by the wealth of practical advice LearningGod's Stories Together provides. The first part of the book explains the theory and practice of all ages learning. Dorothy opens our eyes to its myriad benefits: It's fun! It builds community. It lets us hear points of view from groups we might not normally have a chance to mingle with. Dorothy presents her ideas in an easily accessible style that will fit with almost any congregation, large or small. There is a section describing the five generations that might form an all ages learning group which is interesting and useful - and not only for church-group use! We also learn about the advantages of all ages learning, which are many. Dorothy provides step-by-step insructions for setting up all ages learning and ideas to use for our first gatherings. The information is complete and inspires us to go ahead and try this if we haven't done it before; it will provide depth and insight and new ideas for those who already have all ages learning happening in their church. The second part of the book consists of 20 story sessions, each of which contains suggestions for gathering, for telling and talking about the story, and for exploring the story and making it part of your life. Again, lots of practical suggestions that will appeal to both children and adults. Dorothy presents her information in a friendly tone that encourages educators to be enthusiastic about embracing this rewarding style of learning. "What other institution do you know where five generations come together every week . . . worshipping, drinkg juice and coffee, talking, eating, doing important mission work and learning together what it means to love God and love a neighbour as oneself. The church provides a natural environment for all-ages gatherings. But, as Edward Loper reminds us, 'There was a time, not all that long ago, when we did not need to intentionally talk about the relationships between generations. The relationships were plain for all to see. Most of us lived in the context of an extended family. Members of several generations lived in a close proximity to one another, kenw each other, and supported each other. This is no longer the case.' It is time, once again, to become intentional in building connections among the generations."
The Hidden Lives of Congregations by Israel Galindo Pdf
Faced with crisis, lack of direction, or just plain "stuckness," many congregations and their leaders are content to deal only with surface issues and symptoms—only to discover that the same problems keep recurring, often in different, and more serious, ways. In The Hidden Lives of Congregations, Christian educator and consultant Israel Galindo takes leaders below the surface of congregational life to provide a comprehensive, holistic look at the corporate nature of church relationships and the invisible dynamics at play. Informed by family systems theory and grounded in a wide-ranging ecclesiological understanding, Galindo unpacks clearly the factors of congregational lifespan, size, spirituality, and identity and shows how these work together to form the congregation’s hidden life. He provides useful tools for diagnosing and understanding how one’s congregation fits into the various categories he names and suggests what leadership skills are necessary to get beyond the impasse of surface issues and help the congregation achieve its mission. The Hidden Lives of Congregations provides one of the most far-reaching looks into the invisible nature of faith communities written in recent years. For seminaries and divinity schools, it provides a standard text for getting a solid start in congregational practices; for experienced pastors, it provides support for renewing ministry; for lay leaders and committees, it offers insight to deepening mutual ministry. Israel Galindo has written an indispensable manual that leaders will return to repeatedly for new wisdom and guidance
In this volume Sam Hamstra -- a veteran resident pastor responsible for planning worship -- catalogues and describes twenty-nine biblical principles that, to one degree or another, shape the weekly gathering of those Christian congregations who wish to worship in a manner consistent with the Scriptures and coherent with their particular theologies. In so doing, he not only rises above denominational labels, he also tells the story of the process of liturgical renewal within his congregation. This clear and concise work is at once scholarly and practical, traditional and contemporary, biblical and relevant. The book is written for clergy and laity alike, who, together, long for relevant liturgies faithful to scripture.
Ethnic Church Meets Megachurch by Prema A. Kurien Pdf
This book exposes the profound impact American evangelicalism is having on the religious lives of contemporary Christian immigrants, and the pressures immigrant churches face to incorporate evangelical worship styles, often at the expense of maintaining their ethnic character and support systems. Most interestingly, it shows that the integration patterns of post-1965 Christian immigrants and their descendants have essentially reversed earlier models. While immigrants from Europe and their children were expected to shed their ethnic identities to become Americans, in the sphere of religion, they could maintain their ethnic traditions within American denominations. This book shows that members of the contemporary second generation are incorporating into U.S. society by maintaining their ethnic identities in secular contexts but are adopting a de-ethnicized religious identity and practice. In particular, many are gravitating toward evangelical megachurches. Drawing on multi-site research in the U.S. and India, this book also provides a global perspective on religion, demonstrating the variety of ways in which transnational processes affect religious organizations and their members, and how forces of globalization, from the period of colonialism to contemporary out-migration, have brought tremendous changes among Christian communities in the Global South. Book jacket.
Virtually all churches aim to invest meaningfully in the faith development of the younger generations who have been entrusted into their care. Some churches have a longstanding track record of faithfulness in living out this commitment. Some lose sight of this priority over time and allow their intentionality to fade. This book makes a distinctive contribution to our understanding of children’s, youth, and young adult ministries by appropriating Erik Erikson’s concept of generativity (“the interest in establishing and guiding the next generation”) as a way of exploring congregational life. Eleven accomplished authors representing five different countries provide diverse theological and cultural perspectives on key aspects of what it means for churches to invest intentionally in the faith development of the members of emerging generations. Their chapters challenge us to think about the intergenerational dynamics of our churches, the crucial partnership between church and parents, and what it means to involve young people meaningfully in the life of the church. The intriguing topics explored by this group of authors—and the diverse contexts from which they write—promise to broaden and enrich our thinking about caring for children, youth, and young adults as a vital responsibility shared by the entire congregation.
Conflict Management in Congregations by David B. Lott Pdf
Since its inception, the Alban Institute has earned a reputation as a leader in addressing congregational conflict management issues through its research, consulting services, educational events, and particularly its publications. Drawing on this rich heritage, the first title in our new "Harvesting the Learnings" anthology series gathers 20 classic Alban works on congregational conflict into a single, indispensable volume. Conflict Management in Congregations harvests the collected wisdom of many of the key thinkers on this topic, including such past and present Alban consultants as Speed Leas, George Parsons, Margaret Bruehl, Gil Rendle, Alice Mann, and Roy Pneumann. Much of the material found here has long been unavailable but is still much in demand. Divided into three sections that explore the dynamics of conflict, conflict management techniques, and dealing with conflict in specific contexts, this book serves as a comprehensive primer that no pastor or congregational leader will want to be without.
In this in-depth study of eight diverse mainline Protestant congregations, anthropologist Fredric Roberts finds that when local congregations are evaluated by spiritual and religious standards instead of corporate- or pop-culture-based values there remains much to celebrate. Roberts recommends that congregations work to discover their own uniqueness and to build upon the strength that already exist among its own members. Be Not Afraid! is a guide to help congregations rediscover their true calling to be nurturing faith communities, committed to spreading the good news and making disciples.
