Approach

Congregations wishing to join a Generation Spark cohort start by filling out an application. After this application is received, members of our team will interview leadership.

During this interview, we listen and collaborate with congregations and leadership to ensure that the church is in a healthy place to undergo the weighty process of examining cultural norms within the church and the exciting (yet, sometimes exhausting) process of creating lasting, effective change.

Once churches are committed to the process, they are asked to fill out an initial assessment to help them recognize the full picture of what intergenerational relationships currently look like in their context.

The Journey begins!

In Mentoring 101, churches are asked to designate a Discernment Team. This team should be made up of a combination of Senior leadership and church decision makers, those with a passion for seeing Intergenerational Relationships, and even a few youth or young adults!

This Discernment Team is then walked through a series of cohort-based webinars in which psychoeducation around intergenerational ministry is presented such that a shared mentoring language is created within and between all stake holders. Discernment teams are encouraged to meet regularly for times of prayer, discernment, and vision casting during this phase, as they ask the question: What is God up to as God is inviting your church into creating Intergenerational Mentoring Relationships?

During this phase, churches will also be paired with a knowledgeable and experienced coach who will walk with them throughout the year long process, and guide them through the various phases.

During Mentoring 201, churches begin to form a structure for creating authentic, Jesus-centered, intergenerational relationships will look and feel in their context.

At this time, churches are asked to designate a Leadership Team (which may or may not differ from the Discernment Team) to be empowered to take the vision cast by the Discernment Team and make it a reality.

The learning and work of Mentoring 201 takes multiple forms – including asynchronous learning through our online learning platform, a webinar, Safe Church considerations and supports, and an In-Person event for Leadership Teams!

All, of course, while continuing to be supported by your coach.

Ready, set, go!

The vision has been set, the structure has been laid… and now it’s time to start making it happen. During Mentoring 301, churches will start living into what they have created by recruiting and training mentors and mentees from within their congregations.

Mentoring 301 is supported through asynchronous learning and coaching as your church develops timelines and approaches that work in your context. The SPARKS Mentoring Model, resources for mentor training, Mentor/Mentee Journals for tracking progress, and additional supports are all provided. All that is left is for your Leadership Team to put your plan in motion and start sparking dialogue, growth, and change between the generations of your church!

After launching mentoring pairs, churches are encouraged to continue to evaluate what is working and what needs to be changed, and to story-tell around what God has been up to through the pairs. Churches will also fill out a secondary assessment to compare to the initial assessment taken at the beginning of the process.

Churches are encouraged to continue innovating as needed in their context to fan into flame the good work that God has started through the sparks emitted throughout your congregation.