In spring 2025, the Roots & Wings: Intergenerational Training Collaborative grant team conducted a literature review. As part of this literature review, the team identified five characteristics, or “hallmarks,” of intergenerational worship: intentionality, relationality, dignified reciprocity, flexibilityAnd empowerment.
In this series, “Characteristics of Intergenerational Worship,” I will explore each characteristic in turn with particular attention to practical steps for increasing that characteristic in public worship. If you would like to assess which areas of intergenerational worship are already strengths in your context and which need more support, I invite you to take the Roots & Wings course. Investigating the Characteristics of Intergenerational Worship.
Empowerment in the Context of Worship
One of the books I read for our team’s literature review was “From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership” by Erin Raffety. Although the book does not address intergenerational worship, I realized that disability justice leaders have much to teach us who are involved in ministry settings, and much of their work applies directly to actively and equally engaging and valuing all ages in public worship. One of the most powerful teachings of this book is the idea that not only can everyone receive ministry during worship, but everyone has gifts to give during worship. Ageism and ableism do not determine our gifts. All of us – young and old, disabled and non-disabled – can be fed and we can all serve.
While the dictionary definition of empowerment focuses on authority given to someone to do something, I believe empowerment in the context of intergenerational worship has more to do with liberation. It is the process of untying, releasing and releasing the gifts of the community in the name of the community. Empowerment begins with the core belief that everyone has gifts to offer in worship and involves working to invite, equip, and support all members of the worship community to engage deeply in worship and offer their gifts as fully as they desire.
Scholars and practitioners specializing in intergenerational worship emphasize the importance of empowerment in a variety of ways. Joe Azzopardi and Kayle de Waal directly point out that “empowerment” is essential to thriving intergenerational ministry (“The Generating Church“). In chapter 7 of “All ages become“, Robert Pendergraft explains how to use universal design to learn how to plan intergenerational worship. He identifies eight “ramps” for this work, including “Participation: enabling all ages to participate fully.” In the same book (chapter 3), Gareth Crispin underlines “participation“as a central part of the foundation of intergenerational ministry. And Holly Catterton Allen, Christine Lawton, and Cory Seibel discuss the importance of providing opportunities for “all generations should participate in leading worship» (“Intergenerational Christian Formation“, p. 184).
Although experts may use different language, they agree that anyone who enters a public worship space is a uniquely gifted child of God. A vibrant intergenerational community actively invites, equips, and supports all members to fully participate and share their gifts during worship, thereby strengthening their participation and leadership.
Practical steps to increase empowerment
Each church context is unique and there is no single “right” way to practice intergenerational worship. The list of ideas below is not prescriptive (or exhaustive), but is intended to inspire your imagination to help worshipers connect more deeply as members of the body of Christ in a specific worship community.
Empowerment by invitation
- Notice then affirm gifts and interests: All members of the community can begin to notice the gifts, interests, and passions of other members. It can be as simple as noticing that someone has a loud voice when they sit next to you on the bench. Creating a culture of recognizing and affirming gifts and interests can lead to a culture in which people feel empowered to offer these gifts more freely.
- Make small invitations: All community members can invite others to participate in small parts of the work they do on behalf of the community. For example, someone scheduled as an oblation bearer recently asked my three-year-old daughter if she would like to help carry the bread to the altar during the offertory.
- Make personal invitations: When inviting someone to serve in worship leadership, make the invitation as personal as possible. It is empowering to feel seen and known, called by name. For example, “Zara, I heard you like gardening. I wonder if you might be interested in joining the Flower Guild.” Or: “Jose, we are looking for additional mentors for our younger acolytes. You are so patient and have such a gift for encouraging others. Would you like to pray for the opportunity to serve as an acolyte mentor this year?”
- Pray to the Directory: When considering how to invite more worshipers to take on leadership roles, pray through the directory. Read each name. Ask God for help in the process of calling new leaders.
- Remove barriers: Consider what barriers might prevent worshipers from moving into leadership roles. Is there a clear process for getting involved? Are current ministerial teams welcoming new members? Are there opportunities to try new roles without making a long-term commitment?
Empowerment by equipping
- Give everyone plenty of choices: Often, young people who wish to serve in the cult are explicitly or implicitly offered an option: the acolyte. But just like adults, young people have unique gifts, passions and needs. We can better empower people of all ages to lead by providing them with diverse options for their discernment.
- Reduce roles: Dividing worship leadership roles into smaller pieces allows more people to serve and provides opportunities for new worshipers (newbies and younger members) to learn little by little. For example, the acolyte role could be divided into several smaller roles: one person could light and extinguish the candles, one person could carry the cross, and a third person could receive the items from the congregation and deliver them to the priest.
- Offer time to practice: Even for very small roles, consider how congregants will be trained or given opportunities to practice.
- Teaching through learning: In chapter 4 of “All Ages Becoming,” Johannah Myers describes how Jesus taught his disciples by inviting them into his daily life. The disciples learned through observation, conversation, and hands-on practice. Likewise, our churches can provide learning opportunities. For example, a person interested in becoming a greeter may be matched with an experienced greeter with whom they complete one service, serve for another, and follow up with them for a third.
- Teaching the “Why”: The logistics of serving in worship are important, but the experience is much more meaningful when we understand why we are doing something. Whether through learning, practice times, trainings, preaching, training classes, or brief moments after worship (as Shawn Strout describes in his article Building Faith “Why do we say this? : A priest inspires a congregation’s enthusiasm for learning the liturgy“), hold worship leaders accountable by explaining why we do things the way we do them.
Empowerment by supporting
- Registration & Receive feedback: Most worship leadership roles operate in a “set it and forget it” manner. We’re planning drives for the next few months and checking this mission off our lists. In addition to making sure the logistics are covered (i.e., readers receive their readings), we can think about how to verify worship leadership experience and invite feedback from leaders. This could be a simple quarterly email asking for feedback, a 15-minute meeting over coffee hour, or a more formal thought process. It may be led by a church staff member, a member of the vestry, or the person who plans the worship leaders.
- Affirm, recognize and celebrate: Consider how worship leaders will be valued by church staff and the congregation. This could include an order each September, a celebratory lunch, or inclusion in the people’s prayers. When fostering a culture of appreciation for worship leadership, consider modeling gratitude for service rather than focusing on performance. For example, “Thank you for helping lead worship today” rather than “Good job carrying the gospel book.”
Do you have another idea for increasing empowerment in intergenerational worship? Let us know! Contact Sarah Bentley AllredProject Director, Roots & Wings: Intergenerational Training Collaboration.
The image shown is of Alexandre-Alex on Unsplash
Sarah Bentley Allred (she/her/hers)
Sarah Bentley Allred is Project Director for Roots & Wings: Collaborative Intergenerational Education through Lifelong Learning at Virginia Seminary. Prior to joining Lifelong Learning, Sarah served as Director of Children and Youth Ministries for four years, then completed the M.Div. program at VTS with an emphasis on Christian formation. She is passionate about children’s spirituality, intergenerational worship, and small church formation. She loves local cafes, board games, the beach, and exploring new places with her husband, Richard, their daughter, Eleanor, and their dog, Grace. To learn more, visit sarahbentleyallred.com.
