paper presentations

If you choose to attend paper presentations during the 2:00 timeslot, you’ll hear a presentation of three papers grouped together. Each day of the conference offers a grouping of 3 papers on intergenerational ministry and a grouping of 3 papers on children’s spirituality.

By choosing Enhanced or Team registration, you’ll have access to all18 paper presentation recordings and 30 workshop recordings after the event. Your access never expires.

Monday Paper Presentations

These three InterGenerate Papers will be be presented in a group during the presentation time.

Ludicity and Theology: Exploring Some Theological Foundations of Intergenerational Ministry: Ludicity (or playfulness) captures many crucial ingredients for intergenerational ministry (IG), including freedom, participation, relational safety and informality. What inhibits or encourages ludicity then inhibits or encourages IG. Reflection on three English congregations suggests that theological foundations and commitments are central to whether ludic characteristics are present in a congregation or not. More specifically this reflection suggests that open evangelical and charismatic theologies ostensibly provide better foundations for IG than more conservative theologies. Gareth Crispin, MA, PhD candidate, is Lecturer in Practical Theology and Programme lead for the BA in Mission and Ministry, Cliff College, UK.

Apprenticing Faith Together: Helping Adults Understand Discipleship and Their Role in Intergenerational Community: Regardless of the model of intergeneration ministry a church adopts, unless there is a good foundation for understanding disciple formation, adults may still struggle to accept intergenerational endeavors. This paper explores Jesus’ way of teaching and its parallels with apprenticeship as foundational language for creating a successful basis for intergenerational ministry to flourish. Johannah Myers, DMin, is Director of Disciple Formation, Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Greenville, SC, and Associate Director, Messy Church USA.

Building Ramps Instead of Stairs: Universal Design in Planning Intergenerational Worship: The concept of Universal Design is widely used in the realm of architecture but emerged in the late 20th century as a means for educators to meet the diverse needs learners with varying backgrounds and levels of ability. This paper will provide a brief overview of the tenets of universal design as articulated for education but then pivot toward definitional work of universal design as applied to corporate worship planning and leading. Specific attention will be applied to multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement of worshipers from non-majority classes. The theoretical work of this paper will be useful for researchers and scholars studying the intersection of universal design and worship, but the framework will be used by practitioners and lay persons as a means of reconsidering intentional inclusivity in their local ministry context. Robert Pendergraft, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Church Music and Area Coordinator for Academic Studies at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, Texas.

These three Children’s Spirituality Papers will be be presented in a group during the presentation time.

Exploring Predictors of Children’s Relationship with God in the Christian Church: In a rapidly shifting world, we are learning more and more about the depth of children’s spiritual lives and the value of spiritual well-being for strengthening one’s ability to manage those changing realities. The question remains, what components are most important for nurturing the spiritual well-being of children? This paper outlines a quantitative study guided by self-determination theory to explore if the variables of perceived relatedness or perceived autonomy in Sunday school predicted children’s relationships with God. The presentation will explore the findings and practical implications of the research. Heather Ingersoll, PhD, is Executive Director of the Godly Play Foundation in Wilsonville, Oregon.

Advocating the Value of Young Children’s Spiritual Nurture: This literature review is designed to equip practitioners to convey why nurturing young children spiritually is paramount to both church leaders and those who direct children’s ministries. This presentation spans the biblical mandate to nurture faith, the Church Fathers’ teaching, an early Celtic Christian model, Sophia Cavalletti’s research resulting in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Holly Allen’s intergenerational worship, Maria Bunge’s complex view of children, and more. Karin Middleton, MAT, MEd, is a Leader at Novo TCK/MK and Parenting Ministries in Conifer, Colorado.

The “Ugly Pumpkin” and Other Lessons for Nurturing Children’s Emergent Spirituality in a Garden Setting: This presentation explores and harnesses the opportunities inherent in one school’s garden project, for scaffolding, nurturing, and sustaining children’s emergent spirituality and faith formation. Participants will explore the efficacy of social constructivist pedagogies, using vignettes of practice from this research project. This presentation will resonate with all who seek to scaffold children’s relationship with God and His creation. Sandra Ludlow, MEd, Karyn Cameron, MEd, and Bev Christian, MEd, represent Avondale University College, NSW, Australia.

Tuesday Paper Presentations

These three InterGenerate Papers will be be presented in a group during the presentation time.

The Necessity of Intergenerational Dialogue on Social Justice within the South African Church: The recent (2015–2017) protests by university students in South Africa have ignited conversations about social justice that have perhaps been lying dormant for many years after the country’s 1994 democratic elections. Local congregations have engaged in varying activities which created space for dialogue with these youth in an effort to figure out how the church in South Africa could respond to these in theologically appropriate ways. One of the key issues emerging from such reflections has been the gap of older generations’ voices in passing on their experiences of injustice during their fight against our apartheid regime. The role churches played during this period in history is integral to this succession. This chapter argues that it is imperative that the church in South Africa engage in intergenerational dialogue around faith and social justice if we claim to be an authentic and prophetic voice focused on passing on the faith to future generations. Dr Shantelle Weber, PhD, is Senior Lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

How Age-Specific Ministry Became Key to Intergenerational Ministry: Findings from a Case Study in Switzerland: Age-specific ministries—especially for children, youth and seniors—are accepted as a matter of course in many congregations. Is this harmful for intergenerationality? The presentation will contest this assumption. First, a brief review of the beginning of some age-segregated ministries is given. Second, encouraging findings from the doctoral research of the speaker presented. They show that age-segregated ministry is sometimes even a key to intergenerational ministry. Daniela Seibert is a PhD student at the University of Zurich Faculty of Theology, Switzerland.

The Final Frontier? Toward a Theology of Preaching among Intergenerational Faith Communities: Despite exponential growth in all-age worship, little attention has been given to how to make preaching moments truly intergenerational. This presentation addresses this gap by developing an intergenerational homiletic, that is, a theology of preaching that goes beyond paternalistic inclusion of young people in adult-centric sermons or the latest trends in children’s sermons. Rather, by interpreting Jesus as an intergenerational preacher and digging into key theological assumptions, this presentation builds a foundation on which practitioners of all stripes—since all are called to proclaim the gospel—can build through creative experimentations with intergenerational preaching. Dave Csinos, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

These three Children’s Spirituality Papers will be be presented in a group during the presentation time.

Eutychus: A Case Study of the Role of Youth and Children in Acts Koinonia: In contrast to numerous stories of Jesus blessing and healing children in the gospel accounts, children are relatively absent from accounts of the early church’s ministry in Acts. The story of Eutychus’ near-deadly fall in Acts 20:7-12 stands as a surprising and startling exception. Nevertheless, situated within the breaking of the bread and preaching of the Word, this episode places Eutychus at the center of emerging Christian community. By discerning Eutychus’ place within this community, this essay brings children out from the shadows of the Acts text and suggests a model of Christian community that supports more integrated inclusion of children in worship today. Amy Lindeman Allen, PhD, is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana.

An Evaluation of a Congregation’s Pursuit of a Non-Anxious Intergenerational Discernment of Change: Recently, the church I lead considered moving from a complementarian to egalitarian framework. To cultivate a non-anxious, intergenerational environment for congregational discernment, we took deliberate steps. We involved children and teens in both church classes and home gatherings. Specifically, we took the church through an intergenerational study of anxiety, with a focus on systems theory. This paper focuses on the process of our discernment of change. The paper seeks to demonstrate our congregational system, the steps of our process, and the learned outcomes of a non-anxious intergenerational discernment process. JP Conway, DMin, is Lead Minister at Acklen Avenue Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee.

Divided Worship: The Little Children Suffer (and the Big People, too!): Separation of children from the larger worship life of churches has become the normative practice in most American churches. While age-appropriate worship gatherings are important for children with other children, worship practices that includes children in homes as well as the larger church worship gathering should be considered in order to establish a true and complete community of faith. A heightened awareness of the centrality of worship, and important cooperation between pastoral, children’s ministry, and worship leadership positions will provide a conduit for present and future formation in the life of the entire church community. Edwin Willmington, DMA, is Director of Brehm Music: A Fred Bock Initiative at the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts in Pasadena, California.

Wednesday Paper Presentations

These three InterGenerate Papers will be be presented in a group during the presentation time.

Systematic Review of DMin Theses and PhD Dissertations on Intergenerational Ministry, 2011-2020: This paper will analyze the findings of approximately thirty-five DMin theses and PhD dissertations from 2011-2020 that have focused on intergenerational ministry either empirically or conceptually. The analysis of the empirical studies will share common findings regarding challenges churches face when implementing more intentionally intergenerational practices, leadership insights, benefits for various cohorts (e.g., children, youth, young, middle, and older adults), and blessings for congregations as a whole; the analysis of the conceptual projects will share fresh biblical, theological, and theoretical insights regarding intergenerationality from those doctoral works. The presentation should be of interest to both scholars and ministry leaders who are currently transitioning to a more intergenerational culture. Holly Allen, PhD, is Professor of Christian Ministries at Lipscomb University, Nashville, Tennessee.

Childhood Intergenerational Experiences that Contribute to Christian Commitment in Young Adulthood: Many who minister to children wonder about the connection between childhood experiences and adult spirituality. Research, both formal and informal, has been conducted seeking to understand what types of experiences, especially if cross-generational relationships, make an impact later in life. This presentation seeks to encourage those working in family ministry by revealing research findings from a research endeavor completed in Spring of 2019 seeking to understand the connection between childhood experiences and adult spirituality. Results uncover the influence childhood intergenerational relationships have on adult religiosity particularly in the areas of cross-generational teaching, discussions, and relational interactions. Stacey Davis, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Educational Ministry and Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas.

Honoring the Original Image: A Creational Theology for Intergenerational Ministry: One question to consider when transitioning a church towards greater intergenerational outlook and practice is that of “why?” Why would a community of faith consider bringing the generations together in an intentional and mutual way? This presentation is intended to help give scriptural rationale for those who desire to make the case for this particular vision of church in their given context. The primary focus of this paper will be to offer a creational theology for intergenerational Christian formation by highlighting the conviction that all of humanity is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28). The reasoning offered in this presentation is intended to help those trying to make the case for intergenerational ways of being in their local church. Wilson McCoy, DMin, is Minister at College Hills Church of Christ, Lebanon, Tennessee.

These three Children’s Spirituality Papers will be be presented in a group during the presentation time.

Theology and Child Abuse: Child Safety and Vulnerability in the Midst of Religious Institutions: This paper will explore the role hierarchical theology, Augustine hamartiology, and penal substitutionary atonement played in the increased risk of the abuse of children within religious institutions. It is based on a qualitative research study examining the theological and doctrinal beliefs and practices which victims and survivors identify as increasing the risk of abuse taking place, inhibit disclosure and promote poor responses by religious institutions as revealed in Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse final report. This paper calls practitioners and theologians to engage with vulnerable theological perspectives and practices through the lens of child safety and spiritual formation. Stacey Wilson co-leads Intergenerational Ministry Development for Intergen in Melbourne, Australia.

Trauma and Children’s Spirituality: Extensive research has demonstrated the devastating impact of trauma on children’s development. However, there has been comparatively little discussion in the church of how trauma may shape a child’s developing understanding and experience of God. This paper will review literature at the intersection of trauma and children’s spirituality and explore how ministry leaders might more effectively join children from hard places on the spiritual journey. Esther Zimmerman, PhD, is Associate Professor and Director of the Church and Ministry Leadership Department for the Children and Family Ministry Program at Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary in Lancaster, PA.

Missing Church? Children’s Perceptions of Church Before, In, and Beyond COVID: The guiding question for this qualitative study was, “How has the pandemic affected children’s perceptions of church in my faith community?” For children in Christian contexts, participation in church is an important aspect of their spiritual journey. In earlier research, I completed a qualitative study of children’s perceptions of God using Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1981) Ecological Systems Theory for the conceptual framework. The five- and six-year-old participants of that study shared ideas that reflected their multi-layered, ecological context, including the broader context of the time in which they were living—Bronfenbrenner’s chronosystem. We are living in a significant chronosystem event, an unprecedented time. Churches are responding in a variety of ways during the pandemic to the needs of the faith community, including the children. How will this time, this chronosystem context, influence the spiritual journey of children as they make sense of “church” in new ways? Through interviews with children ages 6-10, I explored their experiences with and perceptions of church before the pandemic, during pandemic, and hopes for after the pandemic. Dana Kennamer, PhD, is Associate Dean at the College of Education and Human Resources and Professor and Chair of Teacher Education at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.