How Older Church Members Are Crossing The Multigenerational Gap
“In a time when so many teenagers and young adults are drifting from faith, grandparents are needed now more than ever.”
That’s what Tim Curtis wrote in an email to The Christian Chronicle. Curtis, a 1980 graduate of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, and a grandfather of seven, believes grandparents are an untapped resource for churches across the nation.
His statement coincides with a graying of the overall U.S. population: The number of American adults 65 and older increased nearly 39% from 2010 to 2020, according to U.S. Census data.
That demographic encompasses about 22% of adults in Churches of Christ, a Pew Research Center study found.
Curtis serves on the board of the Legacy Coalition, which encourages grandparents to minister to their children and grandchildren. The nondenominational nonprofit provides resources — including books, podcasts and classes — to help foster multigenerational relationships.
“Our mission is to equip churches to help grandparents become intentional Christian grandparents,” said Curtis, a retired minister who most recently preached for the Georgetown Church of Christ in the Austin, Texas, area.
Curtis touts a vision of the good grandparents can do in their grandchildren’s lives.
“What I think an effective grandparenting ministry can do is to … help grandparents realize the difference they can make,” Curtis said. “Give them a vision. … And once you understand the impact you can make in their lives, it’s hard to forget that. You don’t let go of that.”
In a series of letters to his grandchildren, Curtis hopes to share “things that I was doing when I grew up, lessons I might have learned, struggles I made it through, why I decided to become a Christian.”
Susan Schultz is “wrapped up, tied up, tangled up in Jesus” at her home congregation in Texas. (Photo provided by Scott Elliott)
A family made at church
Every three months, a group of older men and women in Choctaw, east of Oklahoma City, sits down after Sunday service to share a meal with children.
The “Adopted Grandparents” ministry at the Choctaw Church of Christ pairs older and younger members together to build multigenerational relationships, even without a genetic connection. The Choctaw church also holds Sunday services where “grandparents” are encouraged to sit with their grandchildren.
Outside of Sunday, the pairs are invited to write notes, make weekly calls and attend the occasional movie night in the church’s auditorium. A recent showing was the 2004 film “Napoleon Dynamite,” a coming-of-age comedy about awkward teenagers.
Tina Punneo, the Choctaw church’s secretary, said the ministry pairs older and younger members based on personality, but sometimes siblings are grouped. The pairs are also meant to bring out the best characteristics in each child, such as matching an outgoing adult with a quiet teen.
“The main goal of this ministry is to have them interact with one another and speak to each other to create the love and connection between these two generations within the church family,” Punneo said in an email.
No excuse for slacking off
About 420 miles south of Choctaw, a 74-year-old retired schoolteacher with no children goes by “Grandma Schultz.”
Susan Schultz, a member of the La Grange Church of Christ in Texas and a volunteer for the Area Ministry for Emergency Needs (AMEN) food pantry, loves children.
At monthly fellowship meals hosted by the La Grange church, Grandma Schultz always makes a point to sit with young people. She also attends school events for children within the congregation.
When children ask if they may help her prepare fellowship meals, the answer is simple: “Absolutely!”
“If they have a desire and you tell them no, then when we need them, they’re going to say, ‘Sorry, I’m not interested,’” Schultz said. “It’s another chance to engage.”
Whether she is out and about or inside church walls, she remembers, “No matter where I am, I don’t know who’s watching. I do not want to be someone’s excuse for not having the Lord as their Savior.”
This piece is republished with permission from The Christian Chronicle.
Anrew Reneau is a summer intern for The Christian Chronicle. He is a senior multimedia journalism major at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. He is a member of the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston.