Lonnie Wilkey
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
There appears to be a disturbing trend popping up in society today. Some churches, whether they mean to or not, are giving aging Baby Boomers (another way of saying senior adults) the impression they are not welcome.
These churches are putting all of their eggs into the “Millennial basket.” Millennials are generally defined as those born between 1981-97. Boomers are those born between 1946-64. This year, experts predict there will be more Millennials than Baby Boomers for the first time in history.
And, let’s not forget Generation X, those born from 1965-80 who are between Baby Boomers and Millennials.
We need to reach the Millennials. They are the parents of our grandchildren and for some, great grandchildren (Generation Y). It is imperative that we reach the Millennial generation for Christ because in all likelihood they will be the ones who win our grandchildren’s generation for the Lord.
But we don’t need to pit one generation against another and we certainly should not discard any generation.
Everyone on this planet today has one thing in common regardless of age — we are all God’s creation and we all need to be children of the King (Jesus Christ).
One of the Five Objectives of the Tennessee Baptist Convention is to see at least 50,000 Tennesseans annually saved, baptized, and set on the road to discipleship by 2024. That’s going to mean we have to take the saving message of Jesus Christ to every age group.
I would encourage every reader to read the article, ” ‘Boomer Wave’ Coming to Churches” on this website. It’s a good summary of where many churches are today.
I understand that new church plants (the third of the Five Objectives by the way) are more than likely going to target Millennials. They need to. At the same time those new churches are going to need the wisdom and resources that can be supplied by the Boomers. An intelligent church planter will build a team that includes all age groups in order to be most effective in ministry.
And the same holds true for any church. Churches, for the most part, are a microcosm of society. We are going to have those who are very young (infants) to the most senior of adults (90 and above) combined with every age group in between.
Churches that focus entirely on young families may find that they don’t have the financial stability and leadership needed to continue to grow, reach, and minister to those younger families.
By the same token, churches that tend to reach only senior adults will find that while they may have the resources they don’t have the “energy” that younger adults, children, and youth can supply.
Ministry today does not need to mean “either/or” when it comes to reaching people for Jesus Christ. It should always include “everybody.”
For 30-plus years I have been blessed to be a part of Tulip Grove Baptist Church in Old Hickory.
For obvious reasons, I try not to write a lot about my church, but I have to “brag,” at least on this topic. Since we first joined the church, Tulip Grove has tried to reach everyone of all ages.
Our former pastor Ken Clayton helped guide our church to have strong programs for all people regardless of age.
After he retired and moved to Crossville (where he came out of retirement to serve as pastor of Pine Eden Baptist Church), Gerald Bontrager joined us about five years ago and embraced our tradition.
Pastor Gerald proudly proclaims that Tulip Grove is an “intergenerational church.”
He notes that “an intergenerational church body provides the opportunity to practice grace, which is the very heart of the gospel. The older folks willingly sacrifice their desires for the sake of the younger folks. The younger folks willingly sacrifice their desires for the sake of the older folks.
“The focus is on others, rather than upon self. Isn’t this what the gospel is all about? Christ gave up His rights (Philippians 2:1-8) for the sake of providing salvation.
“When a church narrows its focus to only one segment of society — young or old — that church, by default, narrows the application of the gospel.”
While no one church can be “all things to all people,” the church can embrace everyone and encourage them to, as Pastor Gerald says, practice grace by accepting one another and utilizing the unique gifts and talents of each generation.
The ultimate goal of Christians and churches should be to see that everyone, regardless of generation, will spend eternity together in heaven.
