Liz Perraud
Executive Director
GenOn Ministries

I love my morning NYT word puzzles—Strands, Wordle, Connections, and the new Antiwordle. They stretch my brain and are a good way to wake up. But my favorite part is checking in with two friends afterwards to share results and strategy, and to commiserate when necessary. It’s the relational aspect that makes it more fun and keeps me coming back.

Relationships matter.

Throughout our 60+ years, GenOn has identified some theological, sociological, behavioral, cultural, and environmental factors that impact Christian faith formation.  We believe these “realities” or “givens"—like the law of gravity—to be true and functioning whether we pay attention to them or not.  And if we do believe them to be true, the church must pay attention and respond appropriately in how we minister to and with people of all generations. This response shapes the context and foundation of healthy ministries. 

One of these “realities” or “givens” is that the Christian faith is more caught than taught. That Christian experience precedes Christian thought and theology.

For excellent ministry, we need to shape our worship, fellowship, service, and study with the conviction that spiritual nurture requires a relational context to be effective.

Relationships matter. This is true for any ministry. 

See our curriculum and training for relationship growth

The Christian faith is not primarily information or head knowledge, but centered in relationships.  And relational knowledge can only be obtained by actually being in relationship with one another.  Other people can come to know God through those who follow Christ in the style and quality of their relationships.

When people are part of a community that models unconditional love and acceptance, they have a glimpse of what it means to be loved by God. When children, youth, or adults trust people whom they can see, they can begin to trust a God whom they can’t see.

Holly Allen and Christine Lawton write (in Intergenerational Christian Formation): “For intergenerational formation to happen, the generations must be together; they must know each other; and they must experience life in the Body of Christ together.”

John Westerhoff says (in Will Our Children Have Faith): “Without interaction between and among the generations, each making its own unique contribution, Christian community is difficult to maintain.”

In 1976, Westerhoff’s seminal book shed a light on the problem of Christian education in separate classes where biblical facts were taught but did little to nurture faith through shared relationships. And we’re still trying to shed a light on that practice 50 years later.

Share this post with clergy, staff, and volunteers in your church and then discuss:

• How have I found this reality (“faith is caught more than taught”) to be true from my own experience?
• How does our church recognize and practice this reality and responding conviction (“ministry requires a relational context”)?
• What needs our attention to this responding conviction for stronger intergenerational Christ-centered community? 

See our curriculum and training for relationship growth