Older Adults and Resilient Faith: Three False Narratives and an Invitation
Folks in the “third third of life” need their church fellowship to both support and even boost their resilience.
Join a conversation about learning, worshiping, and serving together with those who are at different places on their lifelong journeys of faith formation.
Write your own blog post to share your ministry experience with others.
Folks in the “third third of life” need their church fellowship to both support and even boost their resilience.
How one church is helping members connect daily through a faith formation activity, even in the midst of a pandemic.
How can we encourage each other to focus on what we hope for, and the One in whom our hope is rooted, rather than what we’re hoping against in these strange and uncertain times?
Do you know your family’s immigration story? With all this time at home in the COVID-19 crisis, find out what yours is, record it in an interview, and your story could be added to the "Immigration Is Our Story" series!
Intergenerational small groups are rare. But the benefits for adults, kids, and teens are incalculable. Here's one group's story.
Read how congregations are wrestling with how best to engage people of all ages and all learning styles in their worship services.
The question I get the most is: “How can we help families form faith if they’re too busy to come to our programs?” I believe the solution lies in our sense of belonging.
The number of people who find themselves in the “third third of life” (age 55 and up) is increasing—dramatically. Is your church ready for the challenges and opportunities of this new reality?
Faith Formation Ministries is excited to present a workshop at Inspire 2019 about faith formation for people age 60 and above.
In Canada today, there are 1,200-1,300 people turning 65 years of age every day. In the U.S., 10,000 Boomers reach that milestone birthday each day. Is your church aware of and ready to offer Christ’s love to a growing elderly population?
Shortly after our grandchild was born, I began to build her a crib. It was a process. And even though the plans were in place, we had to make adjustments. I wonder if ministry in our churches might be like this?
Remembering CRC Christmas programs of the 1950's.
Youth ministry often gives opportunities for our creative energies be used in many ways. . .From organizing a snowball fight at a Classis meeting to hockey games between church councils and youth to modifying curriculum.
My parents always saw my sister and I as integral parts of their ministry, knowing that we had valuable contributions to make. And yet they did not force us to get involved; they extended an invitation.
The day 5-year-old Axel brought his plastic blue guitar to church, he found a place between the drummer and guitarist, and began to play. No one laughed or made a fuss. Axel knows his gifts are valued.
A Canadian grocery store chain recently released a video as part of their mission to get people to #EatTogether. I love the video because it demonstrates how intergenerational community is created!
After 22 years of full-time youth ministry, I’ve come to realize that I'm no longer passionate about youth ministry. What I am passionate about is the intergenerational faith formation of our youth and young adults.
Check out this treasure trove of faith forming, intergenerational Advent tools and ideas for how to use them.
A while back I sat around a table listening to a bunch of people quite a bit older than I talking about faith. Though our vocabulary and context is different, I was deeply humbled by their impeccably relevant questions.
That nursery programs hold this much intergenerational ministry potential is often overlooked in churches where nursery is viewed as the hard to staff, catch all for kids who can’t be, or don’t want to be, in worship.
While on vacation in South Carolina, my wife and I worshiped at First Zion Baptist Church. And though it was immediately clear that we were visitors in a strange land, this little church with a big heart welcomed us. . .
He could no longer even stand, so he simply laid himself down on the ground. “Did anyone do anything?” his mom asked. “Yes,” he said quietly. “My friends ran over and laid on the ground right next to me.”
Congregations always have a culture. You won’t find it written down in mission statements or council minutes but walk into any congregation on a Sunday morning, and you will gradually gain a sense of who is welcome.
It was not until we moved to a new town and a new church that I really saw and felt the contrast between a young, homogenous (in age) community and one that spans many generations.
I'd heard the word "mentor" before but it always had a certain amount of formality attached to it. After learning more, I realized the potential for our churches.