God Moving At Maranatha

From Generation to Generation

At Maranatha, we are totally committed to being an intergenerational church. Our vision document, Join the Journey, states:

We will be a church where all generations joyfully worship, grow, and work together in ministry, and where each generation is committed to helping younger generations grow in their faith (Acts 2:17).

This past (Easter) Sunday we saw beautiful expression given to this vision. For the first time in two years, our church enjoyed one another’s company after the worship service, over coffee, tea, and cookies served in various rooms of the church. It was truly an intergenerational event.

As I walked the building during that time, this is what I saw: in the Youth Hall adults, teens, and preteens were interacting over ping pong, foosball, and air hockey, while adults watched on. In the Fellowship Hall, older adults congregated in pairs or in groups, while parents and grandparents sat at round tables having juice with the children.

Some people sat at the bistro tables set out in the foyer and Cafe/Youth Hall. A circle of tiny chairs for the littlest ones was set up in the foyer. Some of them were playing the beanbag toss game that had been set out for them.

The many volunteers who made this fellowship time possible were also of all ages. The kitchen and the coffee serving tables were staffed by older members. The café in the Youth Hall was staffed by some teenaged brothers along with their dad. And guess who will be in charge of organizing the coffee servers? Someone in their 50’s, 60’s, or even 70’s, maybe? Actually, the new "Cafe Time Organizer" is a talented twenty something—Jillian Vanderlaan.

We look forward to growing together as a church of all ages, and we will continue to seek ways to foster our intergenerational culture. As a matter of fact, in two weeks we will be starting a new series of messages called From Generation to Generation. In the course of the seven-part series we will hear God’s message to each generation and interact with one another across the generations.–Pastor Tom