Please Note: We are no longer taking proposals for 2025 Workshops.
2025 workshop Presentations
Intergenerational 101
Beginning the Journey of Intergenerational Ministry: Steps, Struggles, and Strategies
Wilson McCoy
One of the biggest challenges of intergenerational ministry is getting started. What might it look like for a community of faith to begin bringing the generations together in meaningful ways? What are some of the steps a leader can take and what challenges should they anticipate? This workshop is designed for anyone looking to begin the journey of intergenerational ministry in their context.
Wilson McCoy is a minister, professor, writer, and church consultant. He loves spending time with wife and two daughters when he is not experimenting in the kitchen and listening to music. He is the editor of the forthcoming book with ACU Press, Imagining All Generations: A Renewed Vision for An Intergenerational Church. You can find free faith formation resources as well as learn more about Wilson’s writing, speaking, and intergenerational consulting at his website: drwilsonmccoy.com.
Intergenerational Contemplative Practices
Creative contemplative practices for intergenerational communities
Stacey Wilson
This experiential workshop offers participants a chance to explore the use of contemplative and creative practices in intergenerational gatherings. This workshop will provide a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the prayer chapel space created for Intergenerate. Participants will be invited to explore the process of creative space making with Stacey Wilson, the prayer chapel facilitator.
Stacey Wilson has over 20 years of intergenerational ministry experience, as both a pastor and mentor working with communities of faith as they explore the cultural shift required by intergenerational ministry. Stacey is the strategic director of The Recollective, an Ambassador for Lost Sheep resources, and a member of the leadership team in the contemplative community of Dwell (Ascot Vale Church of Christ). A published author and poet, her work examines church leadership and revitalisation, community engagement, disability inclusion, belonging and child safety.
Intergenerational Culture Shift
Encouraging culture change with decision makers through play
Suzi Farrant
Experience a discussion-based game designed to get decision makers and others in churches engaging with concepts of intergenerational church in a bid to foster lasting culture change. Through playing the game we’ll consider together a variety of practices to bring the generations back together. Stories will also be shared about how the game has been successfully used in a variety of contexts across the UK.
Suzi Farrant is Young People and Young Adults Development Worker for the Church of Scotland. Having spent 9 years pioneering fresh approaches to youth ministry in local congregations she’s been advocating over the last 13 years at a national level for culture shift within the church such that children and young people are intentionally included. She holds a Master of Theology degree from the University of Aberdeen, where her thesis was on Bonhoeffer and intergenerational church-community.
Intergenerational Discipleship
Rediscovering the richness of family in disciple making across generations
Peter Joseph
Disciple making should be a natural function of intergenerational ministry. However, too often because of the brokenness found in families, there is this tendency to be neglectful of the task to raise up many generations. Wouldn't it be useful for all generations to rediscover the richness of family in disciple making across generations? A deep dive into the ecumenicity, process and leadership of family is an important exercise in disciple making across generations. What is at stake here is a vibrant family, a vibrant church and a morally intact society.
As Pastor for thirty three years, Dr. Peter Joseph has been engaged in ministry to all generations. He uses his training in Family Leadership and Discipleship to conduct seminars and workshops which provide clarity and confidence to key influencers in families, and generate enthusiasm among parents, grandparents to effectively transmit faith across generations. He earned a Doctoral Degree in Educational Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married for 32 years to Michelle Joseph nee McKinney. They have two adult sons. Dr. Joseph lives with his wife in the Bahamas.
Intergenerational Leadership
We Each Have Expertise: Including All Generations in the Leadership of Intergenerational Ministry
Breen Marie Sipes
How do we welcome and include all generations in the leadership of intergenerational ministry? How do we discover the gifts, talents, and expertise of the people with whom we serve, and unleash that into a life of serving others? Why should any of this be a goal of intergenerational ministry? Join Pastor Breen Sipes as we engage these questions, learn through story and experience, and develop a plan for action that will work in your context.
Rev. Breen Marie Sipes is an ELCA Lutheran pastor, a full-time parent, and an all-time advocate for intergenerational ministry. She leads workshops on intergenerational ministry, worship, and leadership, and has published chapters in All Ages Becoming and Imagining All Generations. As the board president and a facilitator for Music that Makes Community, she practices brave shared leadership in building community through singing together. She is also a team member for the Intergen Collective, an international leadership group for intergenerational ministry.
Intergenerational Learning
All Ages Learning Together
John Roberto
The session will address the essential ingredients for designing an intergenerational learning experience that engages all ages and generations together. The session will also present a variety of models of how congregations have implemented intergenerational learning and faith formation.
John Roberto is the founder of Lifelong Faith Associates and is currently serving as executive director of the National Community of Catechetical Leaders, the Catholic organization serving parish and diocesan religious education leaders. He has spent a lifetime working in faith formation—teaching, writing, researching, consulting, and developing programs. He has a masters degree in religious education from Fordham University and a honorary doctor of divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School.
Intergenerational Mentoring
Mentoring Matters: Creating Authentic and Sustainable Intergenerational Mentoring Relationships
Ron deVries
Generation Spark was developed to address a growing concern that many young people have walked away from church and the faith. This workshop will address the Biblical and research basis of Intergenerational Mentoring and give practical tools to how churches can start sparking connections between generations. Mentoring Matters! And when done properly, it can reverse the trend and sustain faith.
Rev. Ron de Vries has 30+ Years of youth ministry experience, Ordained Pastor for 13 years, 17 years of church consulting, CRCNA partner of the Generation Spark leadership team, Education from Kings University (Theology), Princeton Seminary (Youth and Young Adult ministry).
Intergenerational Preaching
Living Stories Sermons: An Emerging Homiletical Model for Authentic, Intergenerational Belonging
Peter Levenstrong
Discover Living Stories Sermons, an intergenerational approach to preaching that turns sermons into shared storytelling experiences. Using tactile materials, lectionary scripts, and open-ended questions, Living Stories invites all ages to co-create sermons, deepening connection and engagement with the Gospel. Ideal for preachers, this workshop offers practical tools to bring scripture to life in your community.
Rev. Peter Levenstrong is Associate Rector at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, a parish known for its liturgical innovation. Rev. Peter oversees adult formation, youth ministries, and digital evangelism. A graduate of Yale Divinity School, he is passionate about exploring the intersection of faith, creativity, and community. Drawing on his background in education and liturgical innovation, Peter equips churches to deepen intergenerational connection and participatory worship.
Intergenerational Relationship Building
The Excluded Generation: Getting Old People to Include Young People in Church, and Vice Versa
Steve Case
Old people gladly welcome young people into the church—as long as they act just like old people. But few young people do. Young people can hardly wait to be free from older people who try to squeeze them into a certain mold. Which ones matter to Jesus? Find out how to bring seemingly diverse and excluded age groups together. Miracles can still happen at church!
Steve Case serves as the president of Involve Youth, a youth ministry consulting organization based in Northern California, although the farther he travels, the smarter people think he is. He also coordinates the Intergenerational Church concentration cohort for the Andrews University DMin program. With a PhD in religious education, Steve loves discovery and celebrates shared discoveries. As a Baby Boomer, he’s now old even though he thinks he’s young. Maybe he just hasn’t grown up.
Intergenerational Small Groups
Intergenerational Small Groups that are Spiritually Rich for Everyone
Holly Catterton Allen
Those who attend this workshop will participate in an intergenerational small group that begins with an inviting ice breaker, then moves to a transition that welcomes the presence of Jesus, engages Scripture in fresh age-inclusive ways, models household prayers, and closes with a blessing over the participants. The workshop draws from the actual experiences of a church that implemented intergenerational small groups over the past two years. After debriefing the experience, participants will leave with two weeks of curriculum written for intergenerational small groups.
Dr. Holly Catterton Allen recently retired from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. In retirement, she continues to speak at conferences and in churches and teach graduate courses on children's spiritual formation and intergenerational ministry around the world. Holly’s recent books include Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community, and Worship, 2nd edition (InterVarsity Academic, 2023) and Forming Resilient Children: The Role of Spiritual Formation for Healthy Development (InterVarsity Academic, 2021).
++++++++++
Faithful Narratives: Using Storytelling to Strengthen Intergenerational Connections in the Church and Community Settings
Elaine Austin
Stories are a cornerstone of faith, tradition, and community. This workshop is designed for practitioners and ministry leaders who want to harness the transformative power of storytelling to foster faith formation and to deepen intergenerational connections.
Elaine Austin, president of Worship & Wonder, has been doing storytelling in many settings for the last 24 years, focusing on stories from the Young Children & Worship book. But she has been focused for the last 4 years on using these stories in many different settings, with many different ages. Elaine has also served as a minister for the last 37 years, in many different churches and settings.
Intergenerational Storytelling/Story Sharing
Co-creation as a way of life and worship for intergenerational community
Joy Kim
Joy will share how her intercultural and intergenerational community has practiced co-creation through story sharing and creating diverse arts together. She will lead participants to look deeper into principles and practices of co-creation and how this communion of creating arts together has become a way of life and a way of worship for her community. The workshop includes an artistic co-creating activity for all participants to experience co-creation in embodied ways.
Joy Kim studied piano, church music, and music education before graduating from Dallas International University with a master’s degree in World Arts. She currently works as an ethnodoxologist in Clarkston, Georgia, with Proskuneo Ministries and creates spaces for youth and adults to experience multimodal artistic co-creation, build community, and be encouraged in creative leadership. Joy works with diaspora artists from diverse backgrounds to engage in global mission through building intercultural and intergenerational worshiping communities.
++++++++++
Storytelling and Listening: A Better Way to Engage Intergenerationally
Julian Wong
Everyone has stories to tell and many loves to listen interesting stories. Most importantly, stories break the age boundaries and easier to engage intergenerationally. God has His footprints in our lives at every life stage and this workshop helps us to discover what God has done in our lives. This workshop also provides opportunity for us to tell and listen to stories.
Rev. Dr. Julian Wong was called into full-time church ministry in 2005. He is currently the Senior Pastor of Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has a vision of leading the church with 3 congregations of Cantonese, English, and Mandarin with a total of around 1,600 members into an Intergenerational, Missional, and Disciple-Making church. He graduated with a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary focusing on Transforming congregations through storytelling.
Intergenerational Worship
Summer in the Psalms: An Intergenerational Exploration of Worship Through Ancient Israel’s Songbook
Aaron Friesen
This workshop will share insights learned from a process of designing and implementing an 8-week series of intergenerational worship services through the Psalms at CitySalt Church to: 1) explore how the Psalms might be used to structure intergenerational engagement with various feelings, emotions and life experiences as worship, and 2) provide creative ideas, examples, tools and other resources for pastors and ministry leaders to design and implement their own intergenerational worship experiences through the Psalms.
Dr. Aaron Friesen (MDiv, PhD) serves as Co-Lead Pastor at CitySalt Foursquare Church in Eugene, Oregon. He is a Project Faculty member in the Doctor of Leadership program at Portland Seminary and an adjunct professor. He and his wife, Heather, founded Storyline Kids in 2022, a nonprofit dedicated to helping all children find their place in God’s story through the development of unique curriculum, training and resources for churches and spiritual caregivers.
++++++++++
When All God’s People Gather: Children as Full Participants in Intergenerational Worship
Jennifer Reinsch Schroeder
Shannon Clarkson Rains
As churches seek to become more intergenerational in their worship, they often wrestle with how to meaningfully include children. The answer requires thinking creatively about worship, stepping outside of one’s comfort zone, and being intentional about the choices made. Yet when truly intergenerational worship occurs, it is transformative for all present. This workshop will explore different ways of including children in the practices of worship so that all can share in the flourishing of faith.
Dr. Jennifer Reinsch Schroeder is the College Fellow for Children and Family Ministry at Abilene Christian University and the director for Center for Women in Christian Ministry. Jennifer holds dual doctorates—a Doctor of Ministry from ACU and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Michigan State University—and previously served as a children’s minister for 17 years before moving to ACU full-time. She, her husband, Greg, and their four children call Abilene, Texas home.
Dr. Shannon Clarkson Rains is the Associate Professor of Children’s Ministry at Lubbock Christian University and the Program Director for the Graduate Certificate in Children’s Ministry. She is a board member for the National Children and Youth Ministry Conference and an associate of Hope Network Ministries. Shannon earned a Doctor of Ministry from Abilene Christian University and served as a children’s minister for 16 years. She is married to David, and they have two children.
++++++++++
Arts-based Resources to Foster Intergenerational Worship through Spiritual Practices
Ed Willmington
The arts are long-standing, powerful windows into the soul of each person - spiritual practices have for centuries provided principles of Christian formation - intergenerational engagement provides dynamic, growing relationships in homes and churches. Our goal is to intersect these multiple, powerful, formative actions, – arts, spiritual practices, and intergenerational engagement – in combination with experiential, active, hands-on resources, to point people upward in the priority practice of Christian worship.
Dr. Ed Willmington has been the director of the music institute at the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary. In that role he has been an Affiliate Professor of Worship Studies, focusing on the connection of worship leadership and music. A widely published composer, his goals are to serve the church of Christ with thoughtful and artistic integrity and excellence. He has degrees from Bethel University and the University of Arizona in the areas of church music, conducting, and music composition and theory.