The Best Is Yet To Come

One of our axioms is, “We will be ever-growing, ever-reaching this generation for Christ.”

Sometimes people respond to that statement with a question, “What do you have for people MY age?”

When we refer to “this generation,” people who don’t consider themselves to be part of THAT generation (however they define it in their own minds), automatically conclude they are excluded from the activity of Thunder Mountain Church.

Many people also notice (and appreciate) that TMC has a large number of young people, which is considered out of the norm for churches in this day and age.

We consider our worship gatherings like a “family dinner.” I got this concept from the National Worship Leaders Conference I attended in 2007. The idea is that all families are multi-generational, and it is always the responsibility of the older (more mature) members of the family to bend towards the younger (less mature) to make them feel not only welcome, but like they belong in the family.

I’ve seen many churches that do the opposite. They actually bend towards the older and cater to their preferences, which I think is simply because “money talks.” I saw this in my hometown, the established churches, rather than pursue a contemporary style of worship, “bent older” and catered to the needs of the “mature” through a blended style (which the older members preferred). A new church came to town with a contemporary style and swept ALL of the younger people from all of the established churches, which devastated them.

The result was one church with a lot of young people but lacking the wisdom and guidance of the more mature, and you had other churches feeling depressed because they felt the life of the church was missing.

So, back to the original question: “What do you have for people MY age?”
1. The opportunity to be a disciple, who makes disciples who makes disciples regardless of your age.
2. The opportunity to invest in people who will outlive you!

Sometimes people come and ask for a “ministry” to their own demographic, and our response is to help mold that “felt” need (preferences) into activities that will help people take “next steps” in their discipleship journey.

The quickest way to kill a church is to align every ministry with someone’s preference (I call that the “conveyor belt of death”). When we focus our energies on ministering to others (especially those who will outlive us), then we not only find joy, meaning, and purpose for ourselves, but we also build a thriving church community that continues to thrive when other organizations slip into irreversible decline.

I am grateful to God for the church He has established, where year THIRTY-SIX was our best year yet! If we keep our focus, the best is yet to come!