One of my favorite movies to help us understand InterGenerational strategies is “Vantage Point.” Released in 2006 by Sony Pictures, the movie is based on an incident in Spain and is relived through the eyes of eight strangers who all had perfect views of the assassination.
In each of their views there was part of the truth that was only seen clearly when pieced together with the views of the other seven.
Isn’t that today’s church? We see everything in church from our own vantage point. What we see is often not the entire truth, but a part of the total truth. The actual truth cannot be determined until the view of each person is woven together with the others.
When it comes to the key issues of InterGenerational Ministry, they are often seen from the vantage point of the each person.
We often try to make things far more difficult than they need to be.
We are starting a new year. It is a great time for change and trying something new.
Let me ask you a simple question; where do you generally sit for the weekend worship service at your church? I mean actually sit! Most people go to the same service and sit in the same general area, if not the same exact seats. Seating in many churches is similar to season ticket holders for sports. They choose their seat and then everyone else, including the new folks you might be trying to reach, fills in around them.
One of the easiest things a church family can do to begin to grasp the idea of an InterGenerational church is to attend a different service--if you attend the same service, sit in a different seat. I am not saying one row over--I am saying the other side of the church. If you are a front sitter, move to the back on the other side.
In short, see things from a different vantage point and shake hands with different families.
Churches often plan a large program and invest significant resources to do something that can be as simple as some of us in our 60’s who are thought to be “unmovable” from our sacred seats moving and sitting next to a family in their 30’s. If you really want to be radical, try sitting with the teens or college age.
If you truly want to move towards an intergenerational community, try looking at things in your church from a different vantage point.
If you are willing to do this simple act, drop me a note next week and let me know what you saw from your new vantage point.
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