When I visit congregations I repeatedly hear the community say they desire to grow younger. To have more families and children. But how to do it? The reality is that there are congregations that are Growing Young and have wisdom to share. The invitation below is from our ELCA Coaching Network resources with links to presentations on Growing Young. I encourage you to consider these tenets and priorities. The reality is, the #1 need for welcoming new people of any age into your community is that it is a priority and you put those individuals needs about your own. In our hyper-individualized consumer culture this means to be called to a counter cultural way of life…

Jesus invites us all to grow young as we welcome and become like children, who receive the kingdom of God. Young people matter. When they are valued and are made a high priority, young people will bring life and enrich your church. Join us as we talk about what prioritizing young people and their families looks like in our churches.

For many, this will also mean changing our congregational cultures, not adding programs.

If you missed prior presentations or would like to watch them again:

September 16 – New Life: Introduction to Growing Young

October 21 – Growing Young: Be the Best Neighbor

November 18 – Growing Young: Keychain Leadership

December 16 – Growing Young: Empathy

February 17 – Growing Young: Fueling a Warm Community

March 17 – Growing Young: Taking Jesus’ Message Seriously

April 21 – Growing Young: Prioritizing Young People (and Families) Everywhere