One of our amazing leaders, who also serves on staff at a church in a nearby county, shared a beautiful story with me several years ago. Each week, her church gathers for prayer and lifts up their neighborhood—by name, with intention, and with care.

Inspired by their practice, I adapted the idea to fit the church I served a while back and will be incorporating it as part of our Sunday morning prayers beginning in July using the 5-Finger Prayer—a simple, sticky way to help children develop a holy habit of praying for others.

Each finger reminds us to pray for a different part of our local community:

• Thumb – Pray for someone closest to me
  (a local business)
• Pointer – Pray for those who teach me
  (a local school)
• Tall Finger – Pray for government leaders
  (a public official)
• Ring Finger – Pray for those who need help
  (another local church)
• Pinkie – Pray for our own
  (a church family facing extraordinary challenges)

How It Works Each Month

First Sunday of the Month:
We introduce a new prayer prompt card and practice the 5-Finger Prayer together during large group time. Kids take the card home to pray with their families throughout the month.
Prayer Time:
Each Sunday, we pause to pray silently and aloud. Students hold up each finger (or their full hand for the tall finger) as we name each person, group, or organization.
Letter Writing:
At the start of each month, we write a letter to each prayer partner—whether it’s a local school, fire station, business, or family. Kids and leaders sign their first names in bright, fun colors when they arrive on Sunday morning. We mail the letters the following week.

Sample Prayer Letter
Dear [Name],

We consider it a privilege at Macland Community Church to partner with and pray for our neighbors. We believe it’s a joy to lift up our local businesses, leaders, and families in prayer—because we’re all serving one another, and we serve better together.

This month, you were chosen as our Neighborhood Prayer Partner. During our Macland Community Kids Sunday school hour, we will mention you by name and pray for your safety, success, and encouragement.

May God’s greatest blessings rest on you as you faithfully serve our community.

To God be the glory, GREAT things He is doing in our community,
Macland Community Church Children’s Ministry
Littles (Nursery–5th Grade) & Their Leaders

Most children don’t know who to pray for beyond themselves. This simple rhythm helps them:

• Practice prayer, a holy habit , with purpose
• See themselves as part of a larger community
• Grow a habit of loving their neighbors through prayer
• Bless others in real and meaningful ways

This practice connects our kids to the wider world, teaches them to care like Jesus, and reminds our neighbors that we want to be good neighbors, too.

Who can you pray for today?

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.” Philippians 1:4

When summer planning began last winter, our Children’s Ministry team made an exciting decision: to partner with our local community to ENGAGE individuals beyond our campus and outside of Sunday mornings. One of the most joyful ways we do this is through Driveway Parties, in tandem with our town’s Family-to-Park Movie Nights every Thursday in June and July.

What’s a Driveway Party?

It’s a one-hour neighborhood gathering hosted by a church family on a Thursday—any time between 10:00am–11:00am through 6:30pm–7:30pm. Hosts invite neighbors, classmates, and friends through social media, texts, and fliers. The only “treat” needed? A handful of freeze pops at the end!

Our church supports hosts by:

• Creating a personalized graphic to promote the party.
• Sharing the event with our MCC family and inviting folks to attend as ambassadors of Jesus through service, storytelling, and play. Our church kids, and their families, are the best advertising for our children’s ministry.
• Providing all the fun and faith tools for a joyful, Jesus-centered experience!

A Typical Driveway Party Schedule:

• 3:30pm – Arrive & set up in the shade
• 3:50pm – Start hand/leg painting (we skip face painting so it can be seen!)
• 4:05pm – Group welcome & introductions
• 4:10pm – Song with motions (Ex: “Power Shuffle”)
• 4:15pm – Quick game (Heads/Tails with a quarter or Rock, Paper, Scissors)
• 4:20pm – Another motion song (Ex: “Praise the Lord Everyday”)
• 4:25pm – Jesus story with listener participation
• 4:30pm – Prayer teaching (from a greeting of “Dear Lord” to “Amen” which means ‘that’s the truth)
• 4:35pm – Sharing the gospel through colors, books, posters, or symbols
• 4:40pm – Prayer rock response (write or place in neighborhood)
• 4:50pm – Read-aloud: “His Grace Is Enough” or “Wherever You Go…” by Melissa Kruger
• 5:00pm – Freeze pop snack!

Why We ENGAGE

Our Driveway Parties are more than fun—they’re first-touch events designed to:

1. Show God’s love through generosity and gospel storytelling.
2. Teach and model how to share Jesus with others.
3. Offer all four parts of worship—teaching (the Bible), serving (games), holy habits (song & prayer), and table life (snacks & games)—in a playful, outdoor, developmentally-appropriate way.

ENGAGE is the first step in our church’s discipleship rhythm:

ENGAGE → CONNECT → FORM → SEND → (repeat ENGAGE!)

By engaging our community where they live and play, we live out our name—Macland Community Church.

Just last week, a local pastor shared with us the heartbreak of having no children in their congregation. Driveway Parties are one beautiful way we go to the children and their families, bringing the love of Jesus to their very streets.

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Romans 10:14

Last week was my denominational Annual Conference. It’s a time of Christian community focused on worship (prayer, giving, singing, proclamation), teaching (workshops and breakouts), serving (sharing resources, hosting, helping, voting, equipping), and table life (prayer, meals, fellowship) of the Christian family business of the Global Methodist Church.

I was invited to present a Creative Intergenerational Community workshop three times. Within a limited time I hit the ground running to get as much shared as I possibly could to encourage the local church leaders of laity and clergy to intentionally engage as many generations as possible in all of the ministry opportunities we typically schedule on the local church level.

So, what do we mean by “Intergenerational Community”?

At its heart, it means people of all ages and stages connecting, building relationships, and honoring the wisdom, wonder, and gifts each generation brings. Everyone has something to give and something to receive. 

One practical expression of this at our church are the Family Tables in our worship space. These are tables set up right within the rows of chairs—not off in a corner, but right in the mix—inviting littles and their bigs to experience worship together.

The Family Tables are more than kid-friendly—they’re community-inclusive. Just like a hearing aid or a wheelchair ramp, they help make space for every member of our church family to belong.

“When we give our children (and youth) opportunities to watch and observe us engaging in the worship of God, we train our children in how to worship God themselves.” Beth Meverden, Church(ing) Kids, pg. 27. What’s good for kids is good for everybody.

All of God’s people (all ages and stages) are called by our Creator to ‘praise the Lord in His sanctuary.” Psalm 150:1

Littles and middles find plenty to see, hear, touch, and sometimes taste, all that is involved in the worship of our Great God. They pick up the language of worship, the customs of gathering as Christians, and fully join in to encourage one another, just as the Bible teacher in Hebrews 10:24-25 shares to ‘spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’

Our Family Tables are cared for by our interns (weekly re-papering); a faithful servant-leader (weekly painted messages); and Ambassadors—4th and 5th-grade leaders—who take pride in cleaning the space each week after services. It’s not a drop-off zone, but a place where children and their adults worship together.

And they’re just one option! Littles, middles, and youth are scattered all over the worship space with their families. One of our youth sits with our beloved older adults during worship while their parents attend the Spanish-speaking service across campus. That’s what intergenerational community looks like!

In the past 15 months, we’ve seen these tables evolve—from small squares tucked in a corner to long tables woven into the heart of the worship space. This summer, we’ll be expanding them to both sides of the sanctuary. It’s been a beautiful journey, and we’re just getting started.

At the tables are buckets of markers as well as quiet building straws all maintained by the Ambassadors (4th & 5th grade leaders) during and after the services. Next to the tables is a box of clipboards which include activity sheets related to the sermon/season with a cloth zipper pouch (quiet) of alphabots and twistable crayons.

Because here’s the truth: Intentional Intergenerational Christian Community means there’s something for everyone, even if not everything is for everyone. That’s counter-cultural, especially in a world where personal preference often trumps shared purpose. But Christian community invites us to something richer.

Where can we start the conversation for intentional intergenerational Christian community? Start with something already on the calendar. Then ask:

• How can we engage and accommodate littles? – In worship? Family Tables; Ash Wednesday? Place ashes on the backs of hands rather than only on foreheads. On Good Friday? Put the tenebrae service outside at sunset rather than darkening an indoor space. Offer space to move freely.
• How can we engage and accommodate bigs? – At the Live Nativity? Provide a flat walking surface by placing it on the parking lot rather than a field. For Youth Mission Trip? Invite Saints to provide and pray over bagged lunches for the trip. Mix up seating at a dinner? Host a Senior Date Night With The Youth to ‘taco-bout’ our faith together.
• How can we coach a middle to take the lead? Invite a youth to take on new mission which has a beginning and an end, and requires recruiting and building a team to be a ‘disciple-maker’ for the team such as Operation Christmas Child, etc.

As Dave Ferguson writes in Hero Maker, “We aren’t doing anything new. It’s just our turn.

I just found out that someone who deeply hurt me during one of the hardest seasons of my ministry has died. What do I do with that?

We weren’t close. In fact, we rarely interacted or moved in the same circles. But she played a significant role in a painful episode that left a lasting scar. Years ago, I was blackballed from joining a local service organization. I found out when a professional woman from that group called me afterward—apologetic and honest—explaining what had happened once I left the room. Until that moment, the organization had never refused membership to an invited guest. But that day, they did.

I never shared what happened outside of my immediate family and the Lord, until now. I was ashamed—embarrassed that my grace and quiet accommodation were exploited. I later came to recognize that what I experienced wasn’t just rejection. It was bullying—systemic, tolerated, repeated, and even groomed within that organization’s culture. This was not an isolated incident for my time of service there. “To thrive, bullies require secrecy, shame, silent witnesses.” (The Bully At Work)

For clarity, Google defines workplace bullying as repeated, unreasonable actions of individuals (or a group) directed towards another, escalating over time, which is intended to intimidate and creates a risk to the health and safety of the target.

After much research about bullies and targets on my road to healing, I prayerfully left that organization. To tolerate bad behavior in a Christian community is not God’s plan. Hardships, yes. Fear of bodily harm and spiritual bullying, no. Not in America. I began to understand that the bullying wasn’t ultimately about me. It was spiritual warfare—an attempt to disrupt ministry, discredit my calling, and shake my faith.

“We were meant to make the road a little easier for each other. Not shove the other down on it.” Beth Moore (twitter 12/10/10)

There were several years when I didn’t attend local festivals and community events for the likelihood of running into several of those who targeted me and still active in that organization. When I did see one at a local department store several years later, I panicked.  I couldn’t catch my breath, my heart began beating out of my chest, and I had to leave the store. I left a full shopping cart in the aisle and sat in my car praying and singing praise music until the Lord calmed me down enough to drive home.

Over the years which followed, God’s healing words jumped off the pages of my Bible like “Leave her alone, Jesus replied,” (John 12:7a) and “If you can extract the precious from the worthless, then you can be my spokesman,” (Jeremiah 15:19) Partner God’s words with the very presence of amazing women of faith (children’s ministry networking group; Women in Apologetics; Emmaus Reunion group; personal Board of Directors) and I know the wonder and joy that comes from Godly repair, redemption, and restoration.

Books and studies which also led me through that season and beyond:
The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane
When Godly People Do Ungodly Things by Beth Moore
Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley
The Bully at Work by Namie & Namie
When Bad Christians Happen to Good People by Dave Burchett
Creating a Healthier Church by Ronald W. Richardson
Throw the First Punch: Defeating the Enemy Hell-bent on Your Destruction by Beth Guckenburger (Youtube study link)

Now, having heard of this woman’s passing, I’m flooded with complex emotions. I’ve read beautiful tributes about her generosity, her ministry, and her impact in the community. I wish I had known that woman—the one others remember so fondly—instead of the one who wounded me.

What do I do with that?

Beth Moore writes in When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, “Satan is out to destroy the testimony of the believer in Christ. The more influential the testimony, the better.” The gift I have now on the other side is that I know what spiritual warfare looks like, smells like, acts like, feels like, and sounds like.

When one of God’s own is permitted to speak ugly and plot publicly against another of His children within the family of God, this gal has had plenty of practice of not sitting in silence, nor remaining silent to keep the peace, nor pretending it doesn’t matter. I love my Christian siblings and their testimonies too much to let it slide. I’ll be praying and actively loving them to Jesus until restoration shines on us both. Loving on them in every love language to the point of being annoying. Reaching out a hand often. Starting the awkward conversation every time. Stepping into the ring to defend a target because that’s what family does for one another.

 “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Galatians 5:15

Originally written in the fall of 2022. Now published for the first time in summer of 2025.