Every music minister knows the difference between a choir that just shows up and sings and a choir that actually understands why they’re singing across three generations together. I built this survey question because I’d watched two choirs at two different churches sing beautifully and feel completely different in the room. One felt like a family reunion. The other felt like a very well rehearsed corporate retreat. I wanted to know what the leader was actually doing differently, not just what the choir sounded like. So in my 2014 survey I asked leaders whether their choir demonstrably got it, whether the members themselves valued and understood intergenerational worship, and then compared that against specific things the leader did.
Three leadership characteristics stood out, and the gap between choirs whose leaders practiced them and choirs whose leaders didn’t was enormous.
- Leader regularly demonstrates the value of all ages. 91.5% of choirs got it when their leader did this, compared to 53.3% when the leader didn’t.
- Leader intentionally fosters interaction between generations. 53.2% compared to 6.7%.
- Leader articulates a clear philosophy of intergenerational ministry. 74.5% compared to 53.3%.
Look at that middle line again. I’ll admit that number stopped me in my tracks the first time I ran it. Not a little better. Eight times as many. When a leader intentionally fosters interaction between generations, pairing an older singer with a younger one, structuring rehearsal so people actually talk to each other, building relationship on purpose instead of hoping it happens by accident, the gap isn’t ten points. It’s nearly eight times as many. That is, by a wide margin, the single biggest lever in this entire dataset.
I’ve come to believe, after twenty years of standing in front of a choir loft, that unity across generations is never an accident. Paul prays that the God of endurance and encouragement would grant us to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together we may with one voice glorify the Father. Romans 15:5-6 (ESV). That harmony, one voice, glorifying together, is exactly what a healthy intergenerational choir sounds like. Paul frames it as something granted through God’s work, yes, but also something we’re actively pursuing, living into, on purpose.
If you lead a choir and you want it to actually understand and value what it’s doing across generations, don’t just hope it happens because you’ve got teenagers and retirees in the same loft. Say the philosophy out loud. Demonstrate the value in small, weekly ways. And most of all, build actual structures, seating charts, mentoring pairs, small talk before rehearsal, that force generations to interact rather than just occupy the same room.
What’s one specific thing you do to get generations actually talking to each other, not just standing near each other?
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