The Church Must Be...Age-Integrated

The church of Jesus Christ must be a holy, united, loving community that is committed to God and what matters to Him. Therefore it must be committed to age-integrated ministry. This is something you see in Acts 2:39, "the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." A hidden, often forgotten jewel that shows that it is not only for adults that the church exists – and as is shown elsewhere in Scripture, you don’t have to always split up the family. Generations are not meant to be split up all the time as most churches do. The church must practice a balance of all generations worshipping, learning and serving together, fulfilling the Great Command to love God and the Great Commission to make disciples in and through present and future generations. We must be about equipping believers to follow Jesus at home, as a church and in the community.

Psalm 78:4 says "We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done." You cannot do that in isolation. You must be engaged intergenerationally. At Grace we strive for a healthy mix of all ages worshipping, learning and serving together; bringing families together more; balancing age-segregated and age-integrated times. It will show in a balanced church calendar that reflects many opportunities for generations to interact. It will show not only in what we say but in what we do.