Westerhoff introduces his “new” paradigm for Christian education which he coins “a community of faith-enculturation” (I use inverted commas because although he introduced this idea in 1976, few churches do this, so I suggest it is still a novel and relevant concept).
Westerhoff stresses the importance of the faith community reminding us that community’s have a clear identity, common values, beliefs and goals. He suggests that small communities are more effective than large ones because intimacy is key to functional and meaningful relationships in the community (so celebrate your small congregation!) He also stresses the importance of three generations in a community. (See my previous blog “another gem from Westerhoff)
Source of pic: google images
The trend to promote intergenerational worship and churches responds to this. I love Dr Kara Powell’s “Eliminating the kid’s table catastrophe” article which sums it up.
And for a more “meatier” version with theological and practical implications and suggestions see "Moving away from the kids table".
Of course just putting adults, kids and teenagers in the same room or worship service doesn’t give you an intergenerational church. We know from our Kids Friendly experience that for attitudes towards young people to change and for churches to truly welcome children and help them belong, churches need to change their practices and beliefs and embrace “Kids Friendly” or “intergenerational” as a core value of their church.
Another good article that captures the necessity of changing a church's culture when seeking to be "Kids Friendly" or "integenerational" is Intergenerational ministry. Beyond the rhetoric.
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