The trend in recent years has been to isolate young people away from the “old people” in the church and into their own “secluded factions.” The reasoning has been something like this: “Young people don’t want to b
e around the older folks. We’ll attract more young people if we’ll energize them into active, fun and exciting programs … without the ‘old folks.'”
While there are a number of problems with this approach, including a flawed premise that young people do not want or need to be around older folks, the primary issue is that there is no Bible authority for such an arrangement. In fact, the New Testament authorizes quite the opposite! “Older women” are to “admonish the young women,” and “older men,” likewise, are to “exhort the young men” (Tit. 2:3-6). Young people are to “be an example to the believers,” as “a pattern of good works” (1 Tim. 4:12; Tit. 2:7). These actions and responsibilities cannot be fulfilled when older Christians and younger Christians rarely (if ever) interact. If we want our kids to be faithful when they’re 60, they need to witness what a faithful 60-year-old looks like!