Both sets of grandparents for Jewell and Ana were Christians and that has been and continues to be a blessing for them. Yet, we have lived a long way from our parents ever since we have been married and ever since the girls have been born. Even today – of course both my parents have passed away – but we still live 600 miles away from Rachel’s parents. Who can step up and fill the role of grandparents for these girls? Many have done that over the years.
This is not about Jewell and Ana. It is about having a multi-generational church. It’s about generational faithfulness. It’s about passing along the faith from one generation to the next and the more integrated these generations are and the faith of every generation, the stronger that pull is.
If we – as a congregation – wrap our arms around our youth as they grow up in such a way that we create a multi-generation congregation, they will feel strongly compelled to move back home. Not just because this is where their mom and dad are but because this is where their church family is located.
Let’s begin by studying one section of Psalm 89…
THE PSALM 89:20-37:
This psalm is a royal psalm. By that, we mean that it deals with the king, specifically, King David (mentioned 4 times). This psalm was written by Ethan, the Ezrahite. Ethan was a song leader in the temple. Scholars do not believe that this psalm was written during David’s lifetime but sometime after David, when his descendants were not living faithfully to the covenant God had created for them.
The faithfulness of God to His covenant is the main theme of this psalm. Notice how frequently the word “faithfulness” is used and it refers to God’s faithfulness: Verses 1, 2, 5, 8, 14 (translated “truth” in the NASV), 24, 33, 49. In addition to this word, the word “lovingkindness” is also used frequently throughout the psalm (7 times) and this word carries with it the idea of steadfastness and loyalty.
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God will be loyal to His covenant with David and his family. Read verses 35-36. But, the problem is that David’s sons, descendants, have not been faithful to God. In verses 1-4, we see that David’s kingdom is to last forever. But the problem is that David’s sons have not been faithful.
Observe verses 30-32. Whether our children are faithful to God or not is largely the responsibility of parents, but if we are a multigenerational church, sharing the faith with the third and fourth generations, then we can help ensure that our children will stay faithful to Jesus Christ, the Son of David.
We need to make the time to invest in our next generation. Our relationships grow strong through time. The Lads to Leaders program has developed two efforts that try to provide this multi-generational interaction and these two efforts are done throughout the whole year and are events that all of our young people can do: Keepers for the girls and Providers for the boys. Check into them.
Let every generation step forward and say, “I’m willing to serve Christ by serving others.” By each generation doing that, we can create a multi-generational church and we can strengthen the faith of our children.
Seek opportunities to share yourself and your life with “church family” from a different generation.
–Paul Holland
