Intergenerational worship
For one of our Facebook Live Lunch with Leaders, we chatted to Becky Drake all about intergenerational worship.
Lunch with Leaders – Becky Drake
Becky, together with her husband Nick run the Worship for Everyone ministry – a ministry currently based at Gas Street Church in Birmingham. Starting as a music ministry with the purpose of resourcing families, churches and schools with songs that unite the generations, ‘Worship for Everyone’ has also expanded into running, supporting and resourcing Intergenerational worship. She joined us to share her a bit of her heart, her experience and her journey with ‘Worship for Everyone’, including some guiding principles and practical tips. Tickets for the Worship for Everyone conference in June 2023 that she mentions are available here.
In this Facebook Live, we asked Becky these questions:
- Why bother? Why should we be pursuing intergenerational worship? What do we gain from it?
- In practice, how do we help everyone engage?
- How do we empower and equip parents/carers to engage and help their families engage in a side-by-side experience with their children in worship.
Scroll down for the key points, or check out the full video below:
Tips for leaders:
- Have a clear vision – when we know why we are doing it, we can persist when it gets difficult.
- Prayer! The starting point, if you have the vision, is to fuel it by prayer and the power of the Spirit. It is a pioneering ministry so it needs to be covered in prayer and with community around you.
- You cannot engage everyone – that’s the reality. Acknowledge from the outset that this will not be the preference of everyone, and people may leave.
- Song selection is key – simple words, actions (for those who can’t read yet), never forget we are also trying to engage the adults. In the simplicity, don’t lose the theology.
- Maintain your worship values – encounter with God, transformation through the Holy Spirit.
- Frame what you are doing
Tips for parents/carers:
- As parents/carers talk through what is going on in the service with your child.
- Allow your child/ren to be disengaged sometimes.
- Don’t jump straight into the boundaries (follow the six stage circle)
- Pray for your child/ren as you worship.
- Have worship songs on at home so that it becomes part of their culture at home as well as at church.