…that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, Psalms 78:6 (ESV)
Buzzwords come and go but they can and often do impact the life of a local church. The words “emerging” and “missional” are just two examples of trendy words that have become commonplace verbiage in many churches. For example, is there a new buzzword emerging in the church that is also missional in nature? I think so!
In the secular world, the phrase, “the next generation” is not only catching on but seems to be gaining steam. Just click on your television and watch the most recent commercials advertising for you to buy a new car or a new phone.
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) in Wake Forest, NC has approved a new doctoral degree program which specializes in next generation ministry. I just happen to be a part of this initial cohort whom is studying and doing research on the next generation.
My research focuses on next generation topics such as millennials, the unchurched, and ways to do next generation ministry. So what exactly is next generation ministry and how could it impact life at the local church level?
Next generation ministry advances the Gospel through a biblical strategy, collaborating through the local church with parents, leaders, and students for the spiritual formation of those from birth through college.
Businesses are learning in today’s economic climate that they often must do with more with less. This often surfaces in the form of corporations downsizing or restructuring their organizational structures so that certain positions are eliminated in favor of the creation of new positions which require people to complete more tasks yet often with less resources.
Although a church is not per se “a business,” a church must often learn how to operate like a business while an economy like ours still behaves like it is in a recession. In other words, many churches today are being forced to look at how they can do more ministry with less resources.
Next generation ministry helps to solve this dilemma as well as the disciple-making dilemma found in many churches today. Next generation ministry could possibly replace, alter, or tweak many existing models of children and youth ministry.
Next generation ministry says let us take a look at the discipleship process as a continuum that begins at birth and ends at college rather than creating age-graded silos that compete against each other for money, time, and resources. In other words, let us unify ministry efforts so that we can do more with less.
The way next generation ministry is administered will differ according to the size of the church but the idea remains the same. Rather than hiring a traditional children and youth pastor, a small or mid-size church can hire a next generation pastor that will place equal value on discipling all age-graded areas from birth through college by working with and training volunteer or paid next generation leaders within all age-graded groups. A large church or megachurch would have the luxury of hiring a next generation pastor which would then oversee various age-graded pastors on staff (pre-school, children, youth, college) to make sure the adopted “biblical strategy” is kept intact.