Practical Ideas for Intergenerational Discipleship—

She scooped him up from the pew in front of her and sat him in her lap. Patiently, she walked him through the words of the closing hymn, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.”

Caroline sits behind our wiggly row of preschoolers when they return to observe their church family partake of communion. She doesn’t flinch when I pass a child in her direction. In fact, she counts it a blessing and calls it part of her own discipleship.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 states, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

God chose the paradigm of intergenerational discipleship to preserve His people—to make them a nation of remembering. He established this method to set them apart for Himself, distinct and sacred. However, this approach to discipleship doesn’t just happen. In fact, it won’t happen without intentional vision and practical application.

As a children’s ministry director, one of my roles is to advocate for intergenerational discipleship throughout the covenant family—not just children. I’ve studied and gleaned ideas from surrounding church bodies and adapted them to fit our culture and model. Here are three of my favorites:

Covenant Family Verse of the Month: Psalm 119:15 states, “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”

Each month we coordinate with our pastor to select a specific passage from the month’s sermon focus to memorize as a church body. We create artistic verse cards, find a scripture song for the passage, and seek to meditate and memorize it as a church family throughout the entire month. It’s wonderful seeing a child quiz his elder!

Children’s Ministry Sunday: Matthew 18:2-4 says, “And calling to Him a child, he put Him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Once a year our covenant children take over and lead corporate worship. They welcome the people of God as read they scripture passages, lead us in worship and sign language, create the bulletin and so much more! Our Corporate Prayer of Confession is even written from the perspective of a child so that we can embrace Christ’s call to have the humility and faith of a child. Several months later, the youth will lead us in corporate worship in much the same way.

Worship Arts Camp for Kids: 1 Corinthians 12:18-19 says, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”

Our annual Worship Arts Camp for Kids is an in-reach discipleship camp for our covenant children. Throughout the week, campers are led by the youth as they explore various ways they can serve God’s family with the gifts He has distinctly given each of them. Adventures include landscaping, cooking, woodworking, photography, and so much more. Throughout the week, the children identify two ways they would like to serve the church using what they’ve learned in the upcoming year. They are then partnered with those of an older generation to share their gifts with the greater church body!

Intergenerational discipleship is an essential, holy calling. It can sometimes seem intimidating when you embark on this path, but it will breathe fresh life into a covenant family by God’s grace.