When a child is baptized in Presbyterian Churches the congregation promises to raise children "by word and deed, with love and prayer" until they are ready to claim their faith as their own.

Just who are these kids we have promised to nurture? The name for the current generation of children and youth is still up for grabs. Some call them "Generation Y," because Y follows X (as in Generation X) and because "all they do is ask why?." Some call them "Millenials, because they will be the first generation to come of age in the new millennium. Don Tapscott, the author of Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, calls them "N-Gen," for "Net Generation." He defines the N-Gen as those born 1971 and after. In the United States we have 81 million N-Geners. Children and youth make up 30% of the population. (Boomers are only 29%!)

Children on the edge of the 21^st century are not living a 1950s childhood. When we speak of welcoming children to worship and nurturing them in faith, we are not talking about generic children, the way children have "always" been. The question is, how do we nurture the N-Gen in faith? The links on the sidebar explore some answers to that question.

"Becoming a Child-Friendly Church" article in in Presbyterians Today by Erin Cox-Holmes

Last Updated: May 19, 2005