The Intergenerational Faith Center is working to unite Christians of all ages through a public lecture at the 4th annual IFC Dialogues.
John Roberto is the president of Lifelong Faith Associates, editor of the Lifelong Faith journal, coordinator of the Faith Formation 2020 and will share his experience in intergenerational ministry at Oklahoma Christian University.
Junior Franklin Reed said he looks forward to the opportunity to learn more about intergenerational faith issues because he has experienced related situations throughout his life.
“That will be something good [to hear],” Reed said. “There have been problems between older generations and newer generations as I was growing up in the church, and somehow we need to get that back together.”
Junior Seth Cartwright is a youth ministry major and said learning about the generational disconnect within churches is an important issue for ministry students to consider.
“I think [the lecture] will have a good relevance…but I feel like a lot of people don’t think about intergenerational faith,” Cartwright said. “I think it’s something that Bible majors and ministry majors should learn about…and it’s emphasized…in the Bible department.”
Charles Rix, professor of Bible, said Roberto should be an interesting speaker because he dedicates his career to studying intergenerational separation within the church, the causes of the issue and ways to solve it.
“His whole ministry is geared to intergenerational faith,” Rix said. “So, what he does is he is interested in how faith is formed one generation to the next and the importance of faith being modeled by one generation so that the next generation picks it up, and so forth.”
Rix said Roberto is invested in educating people about intergenerational faith and solutions to prominent issues throughout the Church.
“That is kind of what he does,” Rix said. “He is a consultant to churches. He works across the United States helping churches integrate different generations to help them talk to each other and learn from each other.”
Cartwright said he looks forward to learning from someone with significant knowledge on this issue.
“I think it’s a great topic,” Cartwright said. “I thought it’s probably good to hear someone who is experienced with it talk about it, so I think it’s a good thing that we’re having a lecture on it.”
According to Rix, one of the best ways students can benefit from the IFC Dialogues is by learning to appreciate the value of connecting with older Christians.
“I would hope that students would be motivated to get to know people in an older generation and actively pursue relationships with them rather than just sort of stay in a youth group or college group,” Rix said.
Reed said he knows the lecture will be helpful to students going into ministry, but he also said he realizes some knowledge can only be gained from experience.
“I think OC is really equipping us in some things, but at the same time there are probably some things that we need to learn back home or maybe at a congregation,” Reed said. “It’s a mixture of both.”
According to Rix, Roberto’s unique approach will make his message resonate with students, ministers and Christians of all ages.
“He’s a practitioner,” Rix said. “He has a lot of good theory, but he is somebody who really likes to be more hands-on. He’s more like ‘Here is a church, and here are things you can do to connect your older generation to the younger generations that work.’”
Rix said although Roberto presents modern solutions, his philosophies center on basic Old Testament ideals.
“[Intergenerational faith] is a very Biblical model,” Rix said. “The Bible is very explicit that it’s the job of the former generations to prepare the younger generations.”
According to Reed, some students will enjoy the chance to learn about intergenerational faith from Roberto, because he offers a fresh perspective outside of the Oklahoma Christian community.
“If you see the same people over and over again, the students will get used to them, but if you bring in somebody new with a different style, they will probably be attracted to them in some type of way,” Reed said.
The IFC Dialogues with Roberto are on April 13 at 7 p.m. in the Adams Recital Hall. The event is free but must register for tickets here.
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