Integrating intergenerational ministry and age-specific youth ministry in evangelical churches: Maximizing influence for adolescent spiritual development

The impetus for this study arose from the growing trend of church youth ministry leaders who realize that a purely age-stratified ministry model may be inhibiting teens from experiencing the developmental benefits of intergenerational relationships in their faith communities and are seeking ways to integrate intergenerational practices into their existing youth ministries. However, as youth pastors and leaders consider becoming more intergenerational they are faced with some very practical questions: What are the actual benefits and limitations of age-specific and intergenerational ministry approaches? What can realistically be expected from this hybrid of ministry approaches? What is the biblical and theological basis for intergenerational youth ministry? How do you integrate intergenerational ministry into an existing youth ministry? This research attempts to answer those important questions by investigating the theoretical, theological, and empirical literature related to three domains: (a) age-specific youth ministry, (b) intergenerational relationships, and (c) integrated intergenerational youth ministry.;This report enumerates many important benefits of age-specific and intergenerational ministry for adolescent spiritual development as well as identifies the limitations of an exclusive form of either ministry approach. The investigation into each form of ministry revealed that integrating both approaches enables three important streams of influence --- parental, peer, and intergenerational --- that impact adolescent spiritual formation as well as benefit the rest of the congregation. An investigation of several integrated youth ministry approaches yielded a practical set of implications and applications for transitioning to a more intergenerational youth ministry. Perhaps the greatest implication is that the church must respond to the fragmentation of our culture and build bridges between the families and generations in our faith communities. It is hoped that this research will help youth pastors and church leaders make more informed and strategic decisions, and thereby improve the success of transitioning from generational segregation to a more intergenerational form of ministry.