Fact #3: Young adults long for and need older adults to mentor them. LifeWay Christian Resources did an extensive study of young adults. Their interviews pointed out the following facts.
Young adults:
- have a strong desire for relationships with people who are more experienced at life.
- have an increased interest in learning from other people’s mistakes and experiences.
- have a desire for relationships that go beyond their own stages of life.
- have a desire to process hurts or frustrations with others who may have already experienced what they’re going through
Fact #4: Not-Yet-Adults add much to the small group experience. When children receive Christ, they are not then filled with a miniature Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit indwelling every adult in a small group is also supernaturally at work in and through any child or teen, and God will use them in the lives of everyone in the group in profound ways.
RELATED: Obstacles to Group Growth
Fact #5: Intergenerational grouping gives one-parent kids two-parent relationships. One-parent homes are norm. In a one-parent home, one of two households exists: a mom and her kids, or a dad and his kids. Any child living in a one-parent home is at a great loss, as they are without a model of either the male parent or the female parent. While group members can never replace a mom or dad, group members can be models and mentors to a child whose home is void of one gender or the other.
Fact #6: Intergenerational grouping gives older adults a chance to pass on their wisdom to the next generation. It is in living life that we learn life. And those who have lived it the longest are often full of wise counsel. The question is, “What is the most natural and effective setting to receive wise counsel from those who have lived more life than we have?” There is no better setting than in an intergenerational small group.
