Posted on July 17, 2017 by Dr. Will Whittaker
If we say that we value all ages/all people while serving an intergenerational church, but fail to demonstrate that value in our context practically, then we certainly don’t “speak truth” with our actions. We leaders often take for granted that simply being multi-generational automatically means that we are taking intentional steps to show that every person in our ministry has value, feels important, and has a voice. Granted, it is impossible to please everyone (and we are not called to do so; rather, we are called to be faithful to God’s calling on our lives), but we can take the advice and suggestions of several of our Georgia Baptist worship leaders in intergenerational churches on how to practically demonstrate value for our choir members of varying ages (and church members alike). The following is a list of the four most frequent responses I found in my research on intergenerational choirs in Georgia Baptist Churches. Results are presented in rank order, most frequent first.
Soloists and/or Praise Team Members selected from all generations.
About a quarter of the leaders indicated that make this [valuable] step a part of their way of demonstrating value to all choir members. The praise team members and soloists should reflect the generational make-up of your church…period! Making this happen isn’t always easy, especially if the only decent singers in your church are not the demographic you need to round out the generations most present in your church.
In our church we have a wide variety of singers and soloists from each generation. We are BLESSED to have MANY talented folks so being generationally diverse is as easy as scheduling and making sure there is diversity. If my team, for a particular week, is from an older generational cohort, I don’t not alter the musical worship “set” to fit what I think they might like. I make sure young and old team members sing the gamut of music in our repertoire. However, if you’re reading this and saying, “Will, I have only two singers worth singing a solo and no Praise Team and both my singers are 65, but I have a lot of younger families in my church. What do I do? Do I sacrifice the quality to parade a younger, much less experienced singer on the platform so we can “reflect” better who we are?” I would say emphatically, “NO!” The quality of the music, so it’s not a distraction, is very much important. However, insomuch as you CAN be generationally diverse, do it. Truth is, often there are other ways to involve younger faces on the platform without sacrificing the sound. Have them participate in other ways such as: reading a scripture verse, playing an instrument (if possible), singing in the choir (remember, the soloist and praise team are NOT more important than the choir anyway), and the like. Be creative. Remember the concept and apply as you can.
As it is with any other blog I write, the themes of intentionality and thoughtfulness to be inclusive of all generations while being creative in the process, are themes that are vital to leading a vibrant intergenerational worship ministry. Remember that people who volunteer in your ministry are called by God to serve, but they choose to serve with YOU because you care about the value you bring to the table. It’s our jobs as leaders to find the value in each person and use it to its fullest potential
Category: TagsTags: baptist, Boomers, Builders, choir, choirs in worship, choral, church music, Gen-X, intergenerational choir, intergenerational worship, Millennials, multigenerational, music, uncategorized, worship
“Intergenerational Worship” is worship in which people of every age are understood to be equally important.
Howard Vanderwell
Dr. Whittaker, a church I once attended took away the chairs in the choir loft. Even though we exited after the music portion of the service, five or six elderly members had to quit for they just couldn’t stand for 30 minutes. If I were being surveyed, I’d add “physical accommodations” as a way to show value to the elderly (and handicapped!). J Cooper
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Agreed. There are other ways to make this happen, like the use of stools. I would also guess there are other members who might have physical limitations that are not elderly as well. Good addition! Thanks.
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