These suggestions come from Chuck Lawless.com:
- First, Intentionally invite older, long-term members to attend the church’s membership class.
The goal here, of course, is to introduce new members to older ones. Invite the older members to assist in the class by telling some of the church’s history or leading a facility tour. Have a class dinner at one of the member’s homes.
- Next, Include testimonies in the worship service.
We often attend church with large numbers of people whose stories we don’t know. Start to correct this problem by inviting selected members to share their testimony during the worship service – and be sure to vary the generations.
- Third, Start a cross-generational prayer ministry.
Unite the student ministry or the young adult ministry with the senior adult ministry by connecting prayer partners from each generation. Informed praying would require that they get to know each other and their families well.
- Fourth, Create a “grandparenting” ministry.
The pastor of a church with several older folks whose children had moved away, and a few young families who lived some distance from their parents and grandparents got together to support one another in a new ministry.
- And finally, Start a mentoring program.
Jesus invested in others, and Paul did the same. Indeed, the Apostle expected older believers to teach and train younger believers (Titus 2). When we do what the Scriptures mandate, we can expect God to bless it.