This past February, fresh off the heels of an isolating winter storm, our church family came together in our pajamas to serve free pancakes and host an epic games course throughout our church.
Teenagers, including two of my own, worked with adults ranging from young singles to seniors to run giant versions of Jenga, Twister, Memory, Uno, and Bananagrams. A few of our church members, engineers by trade, set up an elaborate putt-putt course in the sanctuary. I hoped no one would be bothered by the hymnals doubling as guard rails for golf balls!
I loved the wackiness of seeing pajamas and oversized board games at church. And I loved meeting families who were new to our church—in fact, new to any church at all—who told me how much they felt welcomed and glad to be there. Still, what struck me the most was how intergenerationally our church served, and how doing so—not just for this one event, but for so many events and programs across the church—truly and joyfully integrated my teenagers into the life of the church.
Integration Goes Both Ways
We can often forget that youth are just as much a part of the life of the church as adults. It’s not just that we need them, or that they need us, although both are robustly true. Scripture itself explicitly calls for older women and men to teach and train the younger generation (Titus 2); we can hardly teach and train effectively if we’ve separated youth and adults into their own silos at church.
When we talk about intergenerational integration as a pillar of youth ministry, we can sometimes mean inviting those at our church who are outside youth ministry to serve in youth ministry. But intergenerational integration does not have to be one-way. Even as older adults pour into youth programs, youth themselves can serve alongside others in the larger life of the church.
Inviting youth to serve in church ministries helps teenagers feel more connected to their church community—and more seen and known by others—in a time where loneliness and isolation are so often the norm. Serving invites youth to learn to love the church in the same way that Christ himself did (Eph. 5:25-27), in an age where church attendance so commonly fades as youth grow older. In turn, through shared service, adults in the church can have natural opportunities to encourage, appreciate, and build meaningful relationships with youth. And church ministries themselves get a boost with the additional energy and hands that youth offer!
Three approaches are key to this kind of intergenerational integration:
1. Give teenagers many opportunities to serve alongside others in the church.
Churches genuinely need all hands on deck to run events and programs! Whether setting up for the Christmas concert, serving in Vacation Bible School, providing child care at our church retreat, helping with the A/V team during Sunday services, or playing music on the worship team, our church gives teenagers plenty of natural and diverse opportunities to contribute to the life of the body.
Since young adults, older adults, parents, grandparents, and seniors all serve in these events and programs as well, my teenagers inevitably work side by side with church members across generations. Many of these are members I personally know, and who have voluntarily undergone safety checks in order to serve children. My teenage son ran his putt-putt station with the same retired math teacher who, two summers earlier, also served with him for five straight days at Bible Station for Vacation Bible School. What a rich blessing to have other trusted adults get to know my teenagers, and have my teenagers get to know them, through serving together over multiple events and years.
2. Train them well—and make it fun!
Our teenagers have a clear mission and vision for their service. Along with the adults, they attend training sessions before events, which review not only logistics and safety protocols, but also the larger purpose of the event. These sessions help our teenagers connect what they’re doing with why they’re doing it: for the games event, to reach out to the community and have fun, yes, but more importantly, to incarnate the welcoming love of Jesus to others. Training builds unity and practically equips youth to do a better job when they serve.
Wisely, church staff often pair training times with free food: Youth are a lot more willing to come to an 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning training before a 9:30 a.m. games event when free breakfast is involved! For added fun, wearing pajamas was strongly encouraged for all volunteers helping at the event.
3. Meaningfully thank them afterwards.
At the end of the games event, my teenagers walked away with a mini wire whisk and a small bag of pancake mix as tokens of appreciation for their help. A week or so later, they received a handwritten card in the mail thanking them for their service, with a follow-up email of thanks and invitation for feedback.
Similarly, during the middle of VBS week, our church caters a “thank you” Chick-fil-A lunch specifically for teen volunteers. My teenagers’ willingness to help wasn’t assumed or taken for granted; rather, their contribution was seen and valued. By asking for their feedback, churches also invite teenagers to contribute to its ongoing mission and vision.
Teenagers Matter in the Body of Christ
If your church hasn’t prioritized intergenerational service, you don’t have to feel overwhelmed. Consider a few bite-sized, incremental steps: pray and look for areas of ministry that already exist at your church, where you can invite your youth to serve with other trusted church members. Set aside a brief training session for everyone, teenagers and adults included, so that they can catch its gospel-centered vision and mission together—and don’t forget about the free food, even if it’s something simple and cost-effective! After they start serving or have served, send a thoughtful note to your teenagers to show them you see them, and to encourage them in their efforts to serve.
My church will tell you that it isn’t perfect by any means, and that it still has room to grow in living out intergenerational community. But as a parent, I’ve been particularly grateful for the integration of youth in our church through service. It’s kept my teenagers feeling like they matter to their church, and that their church matters to them. It’s helped them feel like they’re truly a part of the church family, whether in seeing the infant they cared for in nursery grow into the kindergartener they’re now teaching at VBS, or having an older adult remember their names and faces the next time they pass by on a Sunday morning.
How impactful to grow up in a church that tells you that you have something to contribute, and that you’re a meaningful part of a larger church family. What a beautiful picture of needing all parts of the body of Christ to function (1 Cor. 12:12-27). And what a legacy to seek to shape our teenagers into adults who not only attend, but love the church as the bride of Christ. May they one day see serving in their own churches as the life-giving joy it is!
Rooted offers training courses for youth ministers and churches on Rooted Reservoir. If you’re looking for support in gospel-centered youth ministry, we offer a preview of our video series.
