We recently sat down with AST’s own Rev. Dr. David Csinos (Associate Professor of Practical Theology) to discuss his new release, Church Together: An Essential Guide to All-Age Ministry, co-authored with Traci Smith. 

Dr. Csinos shares how this new guide is designed to help local churches break down generational silos and reimagine ministry—together. 

How did you and your co-author, Traci Smith, split up the writing of Church Together—did you tackle different sections, or blend your ideas throughout?

The book began as an idea to offer some theory and a whole pile of concrete ideas, so we knew that the book needed to be grounded on both. Since Traci and I have complementary gifts and skills, we divided up different sections of the book, with me taking the lead on the theory-based chapters and Traci taking the lead on the practices. But there was a lot of back and forth along the way. In the end, both our voices are woven throughout the entire book.

Who is the absolute primary audience you had in mind while writing this book—is it the busy pastor, the volunteer youth leader, or the seminary student?

The main audience is church leaders—senior pastors, lay leaders, and children’s/youth leaders—who are labouring in the field. We want this book to help equip them with deep concepts and simple ideas that they can use to reimagine ministry in ways that bring people of all ages together.

You included field-tested ideas from ministry leaders around the world in this guide. What is one specific, favourite example from the book that you think perfectly captures the spirit of Church Together?

There are so many ideas that I love within the book, some by Traci, some by me, and some by other gracious contributors, including a few AST students and alumni. 

One of my favourite ideas is Snack Bar Feast. Traci and I spend way too much time talking about snacks, and whenever we know we’ll be at the same event, we bring each other some snacks from our parts of the world. I already have a bag of donair potato chips ready to go (don’t tell her!). The Snack Bar Feast encourages members of a congregation to share their favourite snacks with each other and get to know one another better through the foods we love. It captures the spirit of the book in its simplicity, in the way it easily invites participation from all people, and in how it helps people in the church build relationships with one another.

The book focuses on essential elements of worship like gathering, singing, and praying, as well as community practices like celebrating, serving, and feasting. Which of these elements did you find the most challenging—or the most rewarding—to redesign for all generations?

I often hear leaders mention how difficult it is to reshape our preaching practices to better account for people of all ages (that’s why I wrote my previous book A Gospel for All Ages: Teaching and Preaching with the Whole Church). But I think the broad category of ideas that is most challenging to adapt is communion, which we name as “remembering” in the book. Some churches won’t be able to do too much adaptation to their communion practices due to their particular doctrines. But those whose doctrines make room for some liturgical experimentation with communion practices may find themselves rewarded by having their imaginations stretched and released in all sorts of ways.

If a reader takes away just one core message or ready-to-use practice from Church Together, what do you hope it is?

Don’t just read the book—do something with it. Try something with your church. Whether all your parishioners are over 60 years old or your church is full of children, you can invite everyone into the experiment of ministry for people of any age and for people of all ages. Take the ideas in this book and tweak, adapt, and adjust them for your faith community. You will all learn and grow in faithfulness as you join one another in doing church together.