We need to rethink our definition of church. That is not to say we must redefine church. The church will be redefined over time anyway, but for now we need to know what we mean by 'Church'. It is the body of Christ, the congregation, God's people, His family. Often when we think of church it conjures up mental images of a particular worship service. If we consider the church to be a body of believers, then how we integrate youth is about more than just attendance in morning or evening services. It's about getting to know one another and relating on a
spiritual level.

We need to think creatively about how we integrate young people into the life of the church. What will we do to integrate the generations? As we do that how do we move towards youth participation in all age worship? Some churches have set up prayer sponsorship schemes where adults are assigned a young person to pray for. Other churches use youth in leading services, being sides persons, in music groups, as readers, etc. One area that ought to be explored is the area of missions projects. Both young and old are often keen to get involved in helping human needs. Perhaps youth and adults need to work together on projects. .. Experiences like these will lead to the kind of interaction that brings integration. John Hawksworth, a youth pastor in Leeds, points out that integration is 'more likely to happen through relationship and fellowship than finding common worship songs to sing.' We need to be doing what we can to bring generations together. If we can't bring the youth to the adults, then let's bring the adults to the youth!

We need to be clear that participation is not simply bums on pews. Part of our jobs as youth leaders (paid or volunteer) is to address this misconception of participation. People in the church need to see involvement for youth as being similar, though not always the same, as participation of older people. Attending church functions, prayer meetings, being part of house groups or Bible studies, and going to age specific fellowship groups is all participation in the church. These groups ought to be coming together and the church needs to recognize the participation of young people. It is the task of youth leaders to raise the awareness of youth in the congregation especially if they are not seen on a Sunday morning.
There is hope for integration if only we will believe in its value and work in the right ways to achieve it. The way forward may not be as simple or obvious as we expect. It is however worth pursuing. We are the family of God. Perhaps it's time to re-establish that model of ministry.

Dave Wright, December 2000 , Youthwork magazine
This article in its entirety can be viewed online at
www.youthwork.co.uk