Building up the Body of Christ through intergenerational Bible study: a qualitative theological study

Abstract

This thesis seeks to identify the benefits that intergenerational interaction can bring to Christians from different generations who are involved in UK churches. Due to the limited nature of current intergenerational interaction in churches, this research takes a practice-based approach by evaluating the intergenerational interactions that occurred in the context of a small group study, the Generation to Generation Course, which was produced specifically for this research. This six session course was run in three UK Baptist churches, with the participation of thirty-seven people representing four different generations.

A qualitative assessment approach is taken to explore the outcomes of intergenerational interaction in the groups with particular reference to potential benefits to participants in terms of their reading of the Bible and the development of caring relationships. Data was collected through precourse questionnaires, end of session evaluations, end of course focus groups and session observations. The data is analysed primarily thematically as a whole but also through alternative frameworks which look at observed participant interactions and individual experiences of the course.

The findings of the research indicate that beneficial effects do occur when different generations engage together through the Generation to Generation Course and that these benefits do include increased interaction with the Bible and with other participants. However, challenges to intergenerational interaction also exist. The findings indicate that when little intergenerational interaction is happening in a church, when a group is newly formed rather than being established, and when younger generations are present in a group, there is an increased likelihood that benefits will be gained by interactions between different generations.

Date of Award	28 Aug 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	Neil Messer (Supervisor), James Woodward (Supervisor) & Susanna Snyder (Supervisor)