Generation Genesis

Generation Genesis

For those of you who don't know Generation Genesis is an ecumenical service that meets to worship the first Sunday of every month. Also known as G-squared, this service utilizes emergent/ postmodern worship forms, contemporary music and a message aimed for teens and their problems.

Mission Statement:

To present of the Good News to the youth of our community in a way that is relevant to their lives and encourage the growth of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Service

Generation Genesis is a service for millennials. It employs Postmodern/ Experiential/ Emergent Worship (PEEW) methods. Matthew Campbell defines this new and evolving movement in his essay Thoughts About PEEW:

PEEW is a new style of worship whose goal is to place God as the audience in worship- as the entity receiving the praise and worship. From there, it follows that the worship leaders are the prompters, the persons inspiring the worshipers to praise in new ways and to their utmost strength. Finally, then, the performers are actually the congregation members, because God is their audience, and they are praising and performing not for themselves or others, but for God. In this new mindset, a member of the congregation can praise the Lord wherever they are in whatever they do, without a church or leaders, because they are always a performer for our all-seeing, all-knowing God. Thus, the focus of PEEW is not church-centered, self-serving worship, but life-centered, God-serving worship.

In our services, we incorporate elements of the liturgy, contemporary music, paraphrased bible readings and a variety of activities designed to get the entire group involved in the worship experience. We integrate video, PowerPoint slideshows, drama, symbolic action that I will describe in the next section. These events turn worship into an interactive experience that appeals to all the senses.

Generation Genesis uses Robert Webber's Convergent Worship model as detailed in his book Signs of Wonder: The Phenomenon of Convergence in Modern Liturgical and Charismatic Churches.

We follow the four acts of service but rarely offer the Eucharist at our youth services. Instead, we offer other means for students to get involved in worship. In the book Awesome Worship Services For Youth, the authors describe this form of worship Symbolic Action. This might entail reenacting biblical events or creating symbols of Christian Faith. It is during this time that the message is made real through each youth becoming part of the service.

Come experience Generation Genesis yourself. You might meet the greatest Friend you'll ever know.