Dr. Kara Powell, this year's Outfit Conference Keynote Speaker, has some interesting insight to share in a recent Christianity Today article discussing the age segmentation approach we have used for so many years within the local church.

She reiterates many of the points that we have been hammering at our SAGE events in our adult breakout sessions. A few of the most interesting quotes are listed below...

"A lot of kids aren't going to both youth group and church on Sundays; they're just going to youth group. As a result, graduates are telling us that they don't know how to find a church. After years at the kids' table, they know what youth group is, but they don't know what church is."

Something to Consider: Is your church creating an environment that invites teen girls to be part of the CHURCH or a youth ministry?

"There is a strong link between kids staying in church after they graduate and their involvement in intergenerational relationships and worship. It's important, we're finding, to get beyond a token youth Sunday and start thinking about how to involve kids as ushers and greeters and readers and musicians in our services. We're also finding a relationship between teenagers serving younger kids and their faith maturity when they graduate from high school. Teens should not only be the objects of ministry; they need to be the subjects of ministry as well. It's the 16 year old that has relationships with 66 year olds and 6 year olds who is more likely to stay involved in a faith community after she graduates."

Something to Consider: Does your church currently foster an environment that provides ministry opportunities for your girls? What steps have you taken to emphasize the importance of intergenerational relationships? If you are a parent, are you teaching your daughter to engage in relationships with other godly women?

Dr. Powell's points are truly nothing new. These principles have been laid out for us in Titus 2 for more than two thousand years. It's just a question of whether or not we will choose to accept the call and live out the command for same-gender intergenerational discipleship. This is the whole point behind our Outfit theme this year: Common Ground. But more importantly, it's the whole focus of our ministry and has been for more than a decade. Will you join us in our commitment to see Titus 2 lived out in every church and community?