Rethinking Next-Generation Ministry

Introduction

As a first-generation immigrant pastor serving an American congregation whose culture differed from mine, I have found next-generation ministry challenging. On top of the existing differences in language and culture, the added layer of a generation gap made the ministry feel intimidating. I felt as though a thick wall stood between us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a dedicated youth minister sharing the work of next-generation ministry? But for many of the congregations we serve, that remains out of reach.

Although I am no expert in this field, I draw on nearly a decade of pastoral ministry in the United States, including a few years leading youth ministry as an associate pastor. As a senior pastor, I have also remained committed to supporting next-generation ministry. The following are a few practical insights that I hope will be helpful.

1. Move beyond preconceptions.

I discovered that I carried far more preconceptions about next-generation ministry than I had realized, and those often became stumbling blocks. A few of the assumptions I held include the following:

(a) Young people don’t like church.
(b) The most important thing for students is learning alongside their peers.
(c) Effective next-generation ministry requires a young minister who grew up in America.
(d) To engage the next generation, you have to start by using youthful music.

The assumption I most needed to reconsider—and the one I directly challenge in this article—is that next-generation ministry must take the form of age-segmented groups or programs.

I find it helpful to gather regularly with colleagues who lead next-generation ministry for shared reading and prayer. Continued learning matters, but so does the practice of listening to the needs and stories of young people. Above all, pastors must sustain their attention to next-generation ministry and work intentionally to include the next generation in the life and ministry of the congregation. What most often needs to change first is not a program but the pastor’s perspective and the attention the pastor gives to the ministry.

2. Plan intergenerational worship.

Research suggests that students who grew up worshiping alongside their families tend to maintain their faith and See Mark DeVries’s Sustainable Youth Ministry, Kara Powell’s Growing Young, and the Fuller Youth Institute website.) It was once assumed that faith formation could be delegated to the church as a matter of expertise—the way any other form of education is handed off to specialists. However, in recent years, we have discovered how central a role parents and family play in a child’s spiritual development. The models for how churches and families can partner in that formation vary widely and continue to evolve.

I discovered that meaningful faith conversations rarely happen at home unless families receive support from the congregation. I led a monthly ‘family worship’ service in the congregation I served. Rather than holding a traditional service, we created a relaxed atmosphere where children and youth participated through age-appropriate music and a simple order of worship. We also incorporated faith conversations and activities for the whole family throughout the service. Attendance among young families was noticeably higher on those Sundays, and interestingly, attendance among older adults also peaked.

Even without creating an entirely new form of worship, intergenerational participation can be cultivated in countless ways: students reading scripture, leading prayers, or playing different roles in the service. The key is not to transform a worship service into an intergenerational one all at once, but to consistently carve out small pathways for generations to worship together. The experience itself—multiple generations worshiping God together in the same space—becomes a profound and lasting form of faith formation for the next generation.

3. Build diverse connections across the generations.

Young people’s relationships with the faith community are oftentimes narrowly clustered, centered on a youth minister or limited to their immediate family. When connections are thin, they break easily. Broadening the range and depth of intergenerational relationships within the faith community lays a foundation for a faith that lasts. In Almost Christian, Kenda Creasy Dean shows that many young people in America hunger for meaningful relationships with older adults who can offer them wisdom and guidance.

We invite mentors into our confirmation classes to build one-on-one relationships with students. We also invite older members of the congregation to teach when the curriculum covers church history and similar topics. Another practice worth considering is assigning each student a few adult prayer partners who commit to praying for them regularly. Before major annual events such as mission trips, students organize fundraising activities and receive the congregation’s support. They keep their supporters updated through thank-you notes and prayer requests, strengthening intergenerational relationships throughout the year. Matching the needs and gifts of different generations is also a meaningful form of ministry. The pastor’s role is to create these connections intentionally rather than leaving them to chance. The wider and denser the web of relationships within the congregation, the more resilient a young person’s faith is likely to become.

4. Let students take the lead in ministry.

Young people can be agents of God’s mission, not simply its recipients. This requires a shift away from viewing students and youth as objects of mission and education. The next generation is less interested in being told what to do or what not to do than in actively participating in God’s mission. This sense of agency does not have to begin with something grand. Leading parts of a worship service, serving as volunteers at vacation Bible school, or planning and leading a small service project gives students genuine ownership in the church’s ministry. Adults must leave room for students to engage in ministry themselves, even if imperfectly, so that they can experience what it means to be the church. In doing so, they learn that the church’s purpose and calling are not inward-focused but directed toward the world.

I have witnessed students and their families stepping more fully into the life of the church and growing in faith through participating in mission. The next generation is not just ‘the future church.’ They are already the church of today, co-workers in God’s mission. Pastors need the courage to hand over the ownership of at least one area of ministry to the students.

5. Consult the school calendar alongside your church calendar.

Just as we plan around the church calendar, marking significant seasons and key Sundays, keep the local school calendar in view alongside it. It offers a window into the rhythms of life for students and their families, and when the church takes note of their important days and celebrates them together as a congregation, students receive the message that the church sees them and holds a place for them. Many churches already do this through backpack blessings and graduation celebration services to mark the beginning and end of the school year with blessing and celebration. Before the long summer break, send the children off with a commissioning prayer. When exams approach, offer pastoral prayer for wisdom on behalf of students. Sending college care packages with candy and handwritten notes to students during finals season is a meaningful ministry.

As these small gestures accumulate, students and young families begin to feel, ‘This church knows our lives. There is a place for us here, and we are expected.’

Start building the church calendar with the key dates of the local school district laid out right beside it. What we choose to pay attention to tells us what we choose to value.

Conclusion

What matters most in next-generation ministry is an approach that intentionally brings generations together. The next generation does not exist in isolation; their faith mirrors the faith of their parents and of the adults of the faith community in which they participate. Next-generation ministry, then, is not simply one department of church work aimed at young people; rather, it is the ministry of the whole congregation WITH young people - growing together, sharing life together, and living out faith together. Even without a dedicated children's minister or special programs, begin by giving the next generation a place in worship, meaningful relationships, and opportunities to lead in ministry. Encourage them one step at a time. In the midst of these practices, prayers, and faithful efforts, may we be partners with God in raising up and nurturing a new generation.

Korean – 차세대 사역

Rev. Changki Kim
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, WI