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GENERATION SPARK

Christian Mentoring for Teens and Young Adults

Want to build mentoring relationships in your church?

Join Generation Spark

Generation Spark partners with you to build authentic intergenerational relationships between 16-24-year-olds and spiritual mentors in your church. It’s a totally free process that helps your church implement faith-based mentoring safely and intentionally.

Applications are now open for 2024!

Applications are due by November 30, 2023.

Schedule a call with our team to learn more

How to apply

Your first step is to schedule a call with our team. On the call, you’ll learn more about how Generation Spark works. We’ll also get to know you and your ministry. This will help us discern together whether Generation Spark is a good fit for you. If you decide to move forward after our conversation, we’ll make the application available to you. Once you have completed the application, we’ll continue the discernment process with an interview and assessment. 

Cost: Free

Schedule a call with our team

Why it's time to take a serious look at mentoring ministry

Young Christians

have left their worshiping congregations (Barna Research).

3

MORE YOUNG ADULTS CONNECT TO A CHURCH

when they move away from home or start college if they have a spiritual mentor in their home church (Renegotiating Faith).

Young leaders

who participated in Generation Spark said they want to stay connected to their home church (Generation Spark).

Key benefits of spiritual mentoring for churches

  • Keep youth and young adults involved in church beyond high school graduation. 
  • Fully integrate a new generation into the life and leadership of the church.
  • Learn from and about each other through intergenerational relationships. 
  • Skip the awkward stage of forming intergenerational relationships with built-in structure and shared purpose.

How Generation Spark mentoring ministry works

Recruit your team

Find mentors and connect them with mentees. Ask others to serve as prayer partners in your mentoring ministry.

Engage mentoring pairs in problem-solving

Mentors and mentees work together on a solution to a problem in your church or community. 

Youth present solutions

Mentees share the ideas for solutions that have emerged through their mentoring partnership with your church or community. 

Determine what’s next

Discern what it would look like to move forward with the ideas mentoring teams share. Consider how you can continue to foster intergenerational ministry partnerships with mentoring.

Testimonials and stories

“

Hearing my mentor say ‘It’s great to see you’ on Sunday mornings creates intergenerational bonds and a sense of community. Forced conversations and awkward ice breakers are replaced by the gentle mentoring and guidance the program fosters through relationships.

Generation Spark mentee
“

Focusing on a real problem lays the foundation for adults and youth to combine the wisdom, knowledge, and experience of the former, and the vibrancy, creativity and the youthful perspective of the latter.

Generation Spark mentee
“

This relationship with Mark lets me live into the promise I made to him and his parents when this church baptized him 17 years ago.

Generation Spark mentor
“

Rod, my mentor, and I attended the same service at this church every week for 12 years without ever seeing or recognizing each other. That changed when Generation Spark introduced me to my new friend.

Generation Spark mentee
“

This Generation Spark strategy will help Christian Reformed churches address two needs: enliven profession of faith practices; and, enhance the teen-to-life (high school transition) process.

Christian Reformed Church denominational executive

Featured articles

One Pastor’s Method of Mentoring? Ping Pong.

Why Is There a Generation Missing from Church?

Understanding Digital Culture Can Help the Church Disciple Young Millennials and Gen Z

Are you ready to become a more intergenerational church?

Apply to start mentoring with Generation Spark! Schedule a call with us to see whether Generation Spark is the right fit for your church or organization. Or email generationspark@rca.org to connect with our team.

Schedule a call with us to learn more