4 Ways to Share in the Greatness of the Greatest Generation

Written by Ken Gosnell

Recently while in downtown Washington, DC, I decided to visit the new World War 2 memorial at the end of the reflection pool. The monument was very moving. It reminded me of the sacrifices and commitments of the men and women of the Second World War.

The men who fought and women who served in that war have been termed “the greatest generation.” This term is both proper and fitting. This generation includes people that were born between 1922 and 1945 and are often called “veterans.”

Churches today might be tempted to focus on other generations in order to build their ministry. In my opinion, this is a fatal flaw. While other generations should be sought after, this generation has much to offer. They can and should be utilized in order to help your church to have a great ministry.

The greatest generation can help to make your church great:

1. By Becoming Tribal Storytellers.
Max Depree in a book entitled, “Leadership is an Art” phrases this important term in relation to established historians in successful corporations. He believed that companies would not be successful unless they remembered and honored their past and learned from their past mistakes. With their experiences, “greatests” can help to reproduce successes and avoid repetition of failures.

This generation can be extremely helpful to the church by providing useful and helpful stories of where the church has been in the past. They can become historians that provide meaningful information to new members.

2. By Being an Example of How to Finish Well.
One of the most wonderful aspects of having the greatest generation attend your church is that they show how to finish a faithful life. We all understand that it is not how you start, but how finish that really counts. These faithful individuals have fought their battles with sin and have remained faithful through the years. They remind us by their presence that the Christian race can be run and won.

3. By Providing Wisdom and Discernment in Decisions
This is helpful in ministry because:

• This helps us from repeating mistakes and failures.
• They provide a wise perspective from years of experience.
• They are concerned about helping younger generations to learn values.

4. By Serving in Vital Ministries
People are living longer and can be productive into the late stages of their life. The people in this generation are hard working and want to be active for as long as possible, but often find themselves limited not only by their disabilities, but by the church. Churches can find creative ways to use the willingness of this group.

In my first ministry, we had a woman by the name of Helen Chadsey serve as the head of our greeter ministry. Now, the interesting thing about Helen was that she no longer attended our church. It was not because she did not want to, but rather she could not. Helen had a degeretive back ailment that caused her to spend her days confined to her bed.

She wanted to serve, so each week she would call the members of the church to fill in different areas of our greeter’s ministry. She was happy to do it and she was very good at what she did. Many who might not have normally served quickly stepped up to the plate when asked by Ms. Chadsey. I often look back and laugh because it was the best ministry of our church. If a pastor or church leader will look he/she will be able to find many ministries that need support and people in this generation that would be willing to work.

Even though this generation is older, that does not make them less useful. As a matter of fact, if used in the proper way this generation can help to make your church great!

Ken Gosnell is the lead pastor for a new church work in the DC Metro area. You can contact Ken at Kenspeaks@gmail.com

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