Intergenerational relations

John Greene D.Min.

Developing a Tool for Bridging Generation Gaps Via the Study and Execution of Local Mission Projects at Canton First Baptist Church, examined the idea that a church’s local mission efforts can unite people across generations, because focus on a greater goal bridges preconceptions. The researcher assembled groups of varying generational makeup, surveyed them to find preconceptions about missions and generations, and directed them to serve a local ministry. Tracking the groups’ opinions along generational lines throughout showed the effect missions made. The project showed local missions can bridge the generation gap, so long as the participants are open to change.

Johannah G. Myers

How can the foundation of Messy Church be used to create discipleship groups where all ages practice faith together at Aldersgate United Methodist Church? In order to make disciples, churches must create space for all ages to apprentice faith together. The author engaged educational theories and Jesus' own example, specifically researching apprenticeship as a model for learning faith. The author developed intergenerational small groups using the values and model of Messy Church. The project suggests that Messy Church provides a solid foundation for creating space for all ages to practice faith together.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Seongyong Lee

Death is a place where everything appears. No one can hide before death or demonstrate oneself. Hence, it may be more fearful. In the present age, we try to forget the word, death. Christianity, however, has constantly been speaking of beating death, and even more so than victory, it has been talking about the work bearing new fruit through death. The modern church has told such words of salvation but has not accepted into its heart – where a place to accept faith. The author tries to find the following in his ministry setting: the reason why we must think of death, a new perspective of seeing death, experiences facing death, a life of self-denying and carrying one’s cross through participation in death, and the biblical teachings of productive death as a grain of wheat falls into the earth, dies, and bears much fruit.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Loletuth Kalz

The author researched using an intergenerational leadership structure for the purpose of addressing a missional opportunity in the life of a local church congregation. She studied the biblical support for intergenerational leadership and how this kind of leadership supports the missional work of the church. Analysis suggests that cultivating an intergenerational leadership team can be an effective means of cultivating relationships between people from different generations while at the same time developing more diverse voices of leadership that encourages and expands the missional impact of a worshipping community.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Clayton D Chisum

The purpose of the project was to develop a strategy for an intergenerational mentoring ministry at First Baptist Church, Andrews, Texas. The project director researched the fields of mentoring, church leadership, and intergenerational relationships to determine the best methods and practices for the strategy. From this research, the project director created an annotated bibliography and report on best practices. The project director investigated several strategic planning models and selected the most appropriate model as a guide for the project. In order to identify barriers and opportunities for the ministry, the project director conducted and audit of First Baptist Church, Andrews, Texas, through an online questionnaire and demographic study. The project director created a dynamic ministry strategy presentation that was presented by the project director to the church staff for formal approval.

James Alvin Jamison D.Min.

Declining church attendance is a problem, locally and nationally, for many pastors and congregations. This decline is causing many pastors and churches to have concerns about the future survival of their ministries. There are many reasons given by church statisticians and church growth gurus for this decline. One of the problems can be traced to the generational divide that exists in many congregations between the seniors and those of younger age groups. This thesis offers strategies to use prophetic preaching as a tool to bridge the generation gap. The preacher has to be willing to be intentionally intergenerational in their approach to ministry and in the preparation and delivery of sermons. To do so, the preacher must craft sermons that include all generations so that the listening community becomes a church for all generations.

Willie Robert Cobb Jr. D.Min.

This thesis-project set out to explore the current faith formation programs offered in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the experience of fathers within this context, to support the spiritual growth of fathers and to explore how the church is called to support that growth through faith formation. The meta-method employed for this thesis-project involves the four “movements” of the “pastoral circle” developed by Joe Holland and Peter Henriot, with two additional steps—engagement with theory and correlation. The process included both a broad approach and a personal outreach to those working in the African American and queer communities. Direct outreach to various parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago entailed making phone calls, sending emails, or stopping by a total of 32 parishes. In the end, three focus groups were conducted. The moderator completed all the necessary IRB paperwork and permissions prior to the session meetings. The moderator encouraged participation from each participant in order to elicit information from every single person in the group. To facilitate the discussion, questions were presented to allow the participants to reflect on and share their experiences. Genograms were used to help the participants consider the impact of their personal family history on themselves and their children for several generations back. The project presented and answered the following questions: Does the Archdiocese of Chicago play a role in helping fathers understand how to raise their children, how to fight stereotypes they face about their fatherhood, and how to share their spirituality with their children in a way that interrupts patterns of violence and confronts the social issues they encounter? A two-tiered program was developed to address the concerns that were presented through the course of the project to provide agency for fathers in developing their own spirituality.

Lillian Robinson

Why African-American Generation X'ers Do Not Attend African-American Churches
This dissertation responds to the question, what are the reasons that African-American Gen X'ers do not attend the African-American Church? Surveys were completed by twenty community volunteers. They survey consisted of twenty Likert-Scale questions, one open - ended statement, and three survey evaluation questions.
The results revealed 60% of the participants felt the church service time did not meet their schedules. The reasons included busy lifestyles, finances, and a desire to preserve personal time. Hypocrisy in the church was selected by 45% of the participants. Ninety-four percent of the participants felt the survey allowed them to express their honest options.

Don Laing D.Min.

The challenge of the Chinese immigrant church (CIC) in America is the ongoing departure of its second-generation, American-born Chinese (ABC), now commonly called the “silent exodus.” The Overseas Born Chinese (OBC) leaders of these CICs need to champion a clear and compelling vision of reaching these ABCs that rises above retention. In addition, these OBC leaders will need to incorporate two more practices to reach their second-generation: (1) embrace a biblical culture above either culture of origin and (2) create processes that empowers the second-generation in leadership. This research project evaluated these three practices within three churches that were determined to be reaching their second-generation.
This dissertation was divided into three parts. It opened with a literature review that examined each of the three practices relating to vision, culture and leadership. The dissertation then continued with the construction of the research procedure, utilizing the case study approach. Three Chinese immigrant churches were chosen for this study: Houston Chinese Church, Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles and West Houston Chinese Church. The qualitative research method was applied to handle the field research portion of this study including but not limited to site visits, interviews, and the follow-up questionnaire. The findings of this project were discussed and evaluated regarding the significance of them and the recommendations for future study. The case studies affirmed the significance of each of the three hypotheses.

Reggie R Ogea

The purpose of this project in ministry is to equip selected families of the Valley Creek Baptist Church in faith transmission skills. By equipping parents in personal spiritula formation skills, contextualized in cultural realities and development stages of children, the project director enables primary spiritula influencers to effectively transmit Christian faith to present and emerging generations. In this project in ministry, the project director researched fields of spiritual formation and family ministry, synthesizing his research into a listing of five personal and faith building essential skills, and created an experiential curriculum. The project director equipped parents and spiritual influencers using the research and development curriculum in faith transmission skills during six weekly sessions, each followed by five days of targeted personal and family faith transmission practices.