I want to make an argument here for the benefit of the generations worshiping God together in the same local church. I have in my mind grandparents, parents and children worshiping God together in that same local church. It is common that children might leave their parents and grandparents in search of a church that suits their preferences. We have all seen this happen. And while I would never want to make a law out of it, I think that the wisdom of keeping the generations together in local churches should be considered.

Of course there are some reasons grandparents and parents and children should NOT worship in the same church. If that church is apostate or rejects the biblical patterns of church life, or is counterproductive to family unity, then it is wise for them not to be together. It would be better to attend a biblically ordered church where the Gospel is preached and the Word of God is central. This type of situation would legitimately divide the generations in terms of their local church worship.

With these exceptions in mind, I want to encourage that we consider keeping the generations together in one local church, if at all possible. Psalm 78:4-8 states the responsibility each generation has to teach it the next generation. Through it, the Lord teaches us how to Give our children a good inheritance. It is a picture of one generation praising God to the next generation, and that generation praising God to the next generation, and that generation locked and loaded to praise God to the generation yet to be born.

The church of Jesus Christ has a plan for the rising generation and how to rebuild the ruins of a culture. One generation teaches the rising generation. There are many places in the Bible which cast a vision for a multigenerational vision. Here are some if the indicators.

In Psalm 145:4, A Psalm of Praise, The last of David’s Psalms in the Psalter. David speaks of praising God from one generation to another, ⁴One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.

In Ps 22:30, Believers will recount the great deeds of God to the next generation from a heart full of praises. A Messianic Psalm with a double meaning, ³⁰A posterity shall serve Him.It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,³¹They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,That He has done this.

In Ps 71:18, David in his old age, probably after Absalom’s rebellion looking back on their lives, Fathers are required to communicate the sovereignty of God to old age. when I am old and gray ⁵For You are my hope, O Lord God;You are my trust from my youth.

And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. ¹⁸Now also when I am old and

grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to everyone who is to come.

In Ps 79:13, God’s sheep show God’s praise to all generations “We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

In Psalm 78 the generations are challenged to recount the praises of the Lord, His strength and the wonderful works He has done. And the Psalmist identifies the results of such behavior, that they would declare them to their children, that they set their hope in God, not forget the works of God and to keep God’s commandments:

⁴We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises

of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. ⁵For He

established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded

our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;

The results:

⁶That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born,

That they may arise and declare them to their children, ⁷That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God,But keep His commandments;

Finally, the Psalmist makes it clear that the rising generations should not follow ungodly fathers:

⁸And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

All of this is summed up in Deuteronomy 6:1-2,

“Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, ² that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.”

Christian culture has pretty much embraced the idea that the separation of the generations is a good idea. Most parents believe that they are finished with their role as parents when they turn 18 or when they get married, or go out on their own. But the Bible paints a very different picture. It is very clear that parents and grandparents have an ongoing role to play. This element of Christian culture argues against fragmented families across the generations. As a Result, I don’t view it as always positive when parents and children and grandchildren go to different churches.

All of this subverts the Marxist vision of the family. The Marxist vision of the family is to fragment it. It seeks to divide the generations in order to indoctrinate. Marxist ideologues sought to separate the generations into subgroups where indoctrination is easier.

The generations are united around common preaching

The generations sing the same songs

The generations together are brought into the same prayers

The generations together provide wisdom for young people needing answers

The generations are worshiping God together and challenged on same levels

The generations together subverts elements of fragmentation

The generations together fosters connections that facilitate generational unity

The generations together resists the fragmenting atomization of society

The generations together maintain common relationships

The generations together create a common culture

This is one variable among other variables.

I realize that there are multiple complexities about such a suggestion. Which parents to you go to church with? In most cases, families are divided geographically. One family might be a better choice to be near and go to church with than another. Some families have unprofitable cultures that need to be avoided. It is not reasonable that all families will always be in the same town or state. In the providence of God, people move around for different reasons. They may be living in a foreign country. Some families may have a family dynamic where “leaving and cleaving” make it helpful to be in different churches. Ultimately the head of the household has to decide what is most beneficial to fulfill this biblical multigenerational vision for family life.