UNDERSTANDING THE GENERATIONS
The Generation Gap - does it exist in your church? It’s highly probable that old and young don’t see eye to eye on everything but that shouldn’t be cause for alarm. As the Bible says, “one generation will praise your name to another” (Psalm 145:4). A healthy church should have a cross-section of generations – all we need to know is how to facilitate their different needs. The following articles give some valuable insights into understanding the generations and church life.
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Generations Approach Church Differently – NCLS
Around forty years ago, the age profile of church attenders matched the wider community, but since the 1960s, younger generations went missing. Latest results from the 2006 National Church Life Survey confirm this age gap still exists and it has increased.
In comparing data from the 2001 and 2006 surveys, there appear to be many shared experiences across the generations but the significant differences relate to the way ‘church is done’.
Interestingly, Generation Y’s involvement (those born 1977 to 1991) is on the increase and they have a more positive assessment of church life than any other group.
Based on the results of the 2006 National Church Life Survey (NCLS), Ruth Powell and Kathy Jacka provide a brief introduction to some of the generational differences among church attenders in their paper ‘Generations Approach Church Differently’. It covers:
• trends since 2001
• a summary of generational similarities and differences
• aspects of church most valued
• vision for the future
• hopes for the congregation or parish
• attitudes to innovation and change
[click here to read the NCLS research paper ‘Generations Approach Church Differently']
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Integrating Generation X into your church
During the 1980s and early 90s, Generation Xers filled our youth meetings and Saturday night programs with an energy and passion that had never been seen by their boomer and buster parents. They were cutting edge, pushed boundaries and were innovators of change. Where are they today? Generation X has largely been outmoded and outdated by their younger, faster and more radical teenage contemporaries. Glenn Kruithof looks at three ways in which we can integrate Gen Xers into our churches:
X MARKS THE SPOT: In search of a lost generation
Somewhere amongst our family services and ever-booming teenage ministries is a generation of influential, connected and strategic people who have slowly but surely ‘got old’. Generation X, which started out with such huge potential some 15 years ago, has has largely been outmoded and outdated by their younger, faster and more radical teenage contemporaries. [click here to read the full article ‘X marks the spot’]