Sticky Church

This week Pastor Matt opened God’s word to Deuteronomy 6:4-9 in order to turn our attention to the importance of intergenerational relationships in our church family. Read this together as you begin.

If you feel comfortable, share two brief stories with your group. First, what is something those older than you would say about you, or a story they would love to tell about you?
What is a story those younger than you would love to share about your life? These are better if they’re embarrassing!

In raising children who love the Lord, Pastor Matt called our attention to 4 things. He noted that these four things were listed as the major factors contributing to children continuing to walk with the Lord through their teen and young adult years.
These four elements were:

1. Have an authentic and visible faith
   
2. Know the word of God intimately. Don’t just learn it, we have to internalize it.
   
3. Be diligent in teaching the word of God to our children.
   
4. Daily life is our best discipleship program.
   

Take some time to talk through these four points from a different perspective though… not as parents of specific children, but as parents to those in God’s family who are children. 

1. What does it mean to have an authentic and visible faith in the church family?
   
2. How can we, together, know the word of God intimately? What application does this point have in the context of our community?
   
3. In what ways (both programmatically, and organically) can we be diligent in teaching the word of God to our children?
   
4. Is daily life really the best discipleship program? If we believe this, how are we living it out together with younger people?
   

Pastor Matt suggested 7 ways to continue building intergenerational relationships. He called these “practical ideas for a sticky church”:

1. Fellowship Sunday, invite mixed generations into your home.
   
2. Mixed gen. life groups.
   
3. Serve together. Pastor Matt said that there is no room for statements like "I've done my time” and then checking out completely.
   
4. Talk to people (be bold in your questions and vulnerable in your answers)
   
5. Build into specific people and groups outside your area of comfort.
   
6. Learn about one another.
   
7. Love and serve one another.
   

Talk through each of these 7 points. For each, what is a way you have personally experienced the blessing of this from someone? How have you had the opportunity to bless someone in this way? What was the effect it had on you and your faith? 
For each point, how could you pursue this better individually, and as a group?

Also, take some time to just list some of the intergenerational points of connection, service, and programing you are aware of at Ness. (Hint, Sundays count!)

What is the point of all this?  A good passage to read to close your discussion is Psalm 145 in its entirety. 

How does a healthy church community proclaim the good news of Jesus?

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