GenOn Ministries Blog

Recent Articles

Blog — COVID ministry

Celebrating in the Pandemic: A Growth Group Journey

Posted by Liz Perraud at Apr 06, 2022

A look at one church’s journey with GenOn’s Growth Group for Intergenerational Ministry during the pandemic: “We’ve been going against the wind with this process (and value that); not just waiting it out (which is more passive). Just the act of planning something was heroic.” - Lew Parks, pastor, Growth Group team leader, Mt. Olivet United Methodist Lew and his team chose to focus on Fellowship from the four Ministry Areas – Worship, Study, Service and Fellowship. Their goal was “to celebrate holy days of the church year and religious themes in secular holidays through festive fellowship events that feature...

Two Questions: Andrew Root

Posted by Tracey Daniels at Nov 06, 2021

Andrew RootAuthorProfessor, Youth and Family MinistryLuther Seminary, USA In each edition of IG Mix, we ask a guest writer two questions about serving in ministry. What keeps you up at night? I’m sure I’m not alone, but I’ve found it harder to sleep during the pandemic. I suppose I could have (maybe even should have) treated the lockdowns as an opportunity to hibernate. Unable to control the crisis, I should have controlled what I could and caught up, even stored up, on sleep. But the crisis throbbed with an anxiety that kept me from rest and peace. I couldn’t...

Seminary Corner: The Joy of Shared Life

Posted by Liz Perraud at Sep 11, 2021

Andre Jordan “AJ” Wallace Second-Year Student Princeton Seminary AJ, right, in an intergenerational Sunday morning ministry during his internship. I had the joy of working at a church for the first time this summer. I held very little to no expectations about how the summer would unfold. While I can say numerous things about the wonderful experience I had as a seminary intern, I want to share what I believe was one of the greatest lessons I learned this summer – the power of presence. More specifically, the power of people showing up in...

Time to Rekindle Relationships

Posted by Liz Perraud at May 10, 2021

Relationships and community require care and feeding. Congregations all over the world are facing this same challenge—of starting to gather again in person (or soon!). And we are out of practice. We’ve been Zooming, doing the masked-and-distanced thing, and lots of other creative solutions, but we must admit, it’s been a strange and awkward year, and it’s time to rekindle relationships.

Moving Intergenerational Ministry Outdoors

Posted by Liz Perraud at Mar 20, 2021

Church leaders are pondering a different kind of spring and summer in 2021. Restrictions, vaccine limitations (especially for younger people), and comfort levels are still impacting “ministry as usual” even as our lives seem to be emerging from COVID-19 and hope is springing forth. Holding intergenerational ministry outside allows for safe gatherings and more movement after a very long winter. But what? And how? We surveyed some church leaders we know about their plans and thoughts, and what they were still wondering about—particularly concerning the “norm” of Vacation Bible School. We received some great feedback. They shared a variety of...

0 comments
Tags: COVID ministry, COVID-19, LIFT, ministry outdoors, outdoor ministry, summer, summer church, Vacation Bible School, VBS