I recently had the opportunity to interview Matthew Deprez on the FamTime Podcast and it was a pleasure. We met at Generations Church in Greeley, CO where Matthew serves as one of the pastors. From the moment we met, I could sense his passion for intergenerational ministry. His extensive background in youth ministry and pastoral ministry combined with his training and involvement with Fuller Youth Institute made our conversation so rich with lessons to be learned and inspiration to be shared. 

After interviewing Matthew, I knew I wanted to feature his book on intergenerational ministry in a Top 5 blog. It is a short book and it packs a punch. I selected 5 quotes but please understand that the entire book is noteworthy. Truly, I wish every pastor, church staff, and church member could read it! 

Here we go!

  1. “An 8 year old can teach an 18 year old and an 80 year old about following Jesus and an 80 year old can teach an 18 year old and an 8 year old about following Jesus. It’s as simple as that!” (26)
  2. “It’s not difficult to get different generations in the same room. The difficult task is to get generations speaking to each other. Deeply invested in the other generation’s life. Accepting differences. Realizing similarities. Relying on each other and praying for each other.” (29)
  3. “I think we all have to agree that an eight year old brings as much value to the church as an eighty year old.” (37)
  4. “I find myself fighting for senior adults to stay deeply involved. Whether we would admit this or not, our culture, and most churches, are trying to find a way to get senior adults out the doors of their building.” (96)
  5. “I wonder if all of us would parent differently knowing that one day our children might parent us in the same way we parented them.” (98)

Matthew is a researcher, so be prepared to encounter plenty of appropriate and helpful stats. However, he never speaks over the reader’s head and provides important information in a way that really convicts and inspires. 

Another amazing feature of this book are the stories contained therein. Again, Matthew has extensive ministry experience. Between this experience and his own life story, I found myself laughing and sometimes tearing up at the many testimonies I was reading. 

Reading this book will give you a renewed passion for what Matthew calls the “Now Generation” and how to connect them to the rest of the church body. I hope you pick up several copies today!

Frank Trimble

Director of Training and Consulting

Family Time Training

[email protected]