27 Apr 2023, 21:35Pastor Tim Zestic
Intergenerational Worship Training for Slough and Guildford
The Trans-European Division Family Ministries director Karen Holford held training in Slough on 'A creative approach to engaging children and youth in the church'. The training was held on Sabbath 22 April 2023, bringing together representatives of Slough Central, Guildford and Grace Linc church plant.
Some highlights included how to make church multisensory, use innovative ideas, make colourful visualisations, how to update Bible stories to the modern context and use affordable and available products to create and illustrate the content of worship.
There were workshops and groups engaged in discussions about how to create their elements of worship run by children or worship programmes aimed at children. Resources and literature were shared, and they planned long-term strategies for intergenerational worship (IGW) to be part of the regular worship formula in their churches.
Holford presented some of her rich storage of presentations where she used the multisensory approach in stories, scripture reading, prayer, and even preaching.
Slough Central church discussed a questionnaire among the teens that revealed a worrying reality where over half of them stated that church was either boring or not geared for them. As a result, they said they don't attend worship anymore but do “their own thing”. This sobering reality was enough to make churches find ways of making their services for young people as relevant as possible.
Attendees left the venue inspired to dig deep, trying to make their new findings a reality. As a follow-up, both in Guildford and Slough, the very next day, churches formed teams to promote and implement the strategy of IGW in their worship and church activities.
The Trans-European Division Family Ministries director Karen Holford held training in Slough on 'A creative approach to engaging children and youth in the church'. The training was held on Sabbath 22 April 2023, bringing together representatives of Slough Central, Guildford and Grace Linc church plant.
Some highlights included how to make church multisensory, use innovative ideas, make colourful visualisations, how to update Bible stories to the modern context and use affordable and available products to create and illustrate the content of worship.
There were workshops and groups engaged in discussions about how to create their elements of worship run by children or worship programmes aimed at children. Resources and literature were shared, and they planned long-term strategies for intergenerational worship (IGW) to be part of the regular worship formula in their churches.
Holford presented some of her rich storage of presentations where she used the multisensory approach in stories, scripture reading, prayer, and even preaching.
Slough Central church discussed a questionnaire among the teens that revealed a worrying reality where over half of them stated that church was either boring or not geared for them. As a result, they said they don't attend worship anymore but do “their own thing”. This sobering reality was enough to make churches find ways of making their services for young people as relevant as possible.
Attendees left the venue inspired to dig deep, trying to make their new findings a reality. As a follow-up, both in Guildford and Slough, the very next day, churches formed teams to promote and implement the strategy of IGW in their worship and church activities.
