Day: March 17, 2021

By Frank Canizares

This podcast was recorded to showcase an SDA congregation’s efforts to bridge the generational gap. The soundbites were recorded at SuCasa Church— the Spanish-American Seventh-day Adventist church in Collegedale, Tennessee. Join me as we learn how SuCasa church bridges its demographic reality and congregation’s generational gap.

As you enter SuCasa church, and you go through the COVID protocols in the lobby, you are greeted by a reverent atmosphere, which reveals an older generation’s congregation. At the same time, a youthful spirit coming from the lower level invites you down. The lobby’s reverent atmosphere leads you on through to their main room where an older generation gathers for Sabbath school. But If you had allowed the youth spirit to navigate you to the lower level you would have found a younger generation’s Sabbath school gathering.

As I enjoyed my Sabbath experience during one of the intermissions, I had a chance to ask Carolina Bonilla—SuCasa’s youth director— what is her take on the generational gap and what they have done and are doing to bridge it?

“Our church is a very diverse church,” Bonilla said. “There are more than ten nationalities here. We have children, teens, young adults and adults. We have been successful, specifically throughout the past six years, at being able to give more participation to the youth. Before it was an adult-dominated church where the youth were mostly visitors. Now, they have more participation and even leadership roles.”

SuCasa church’s goal is to train its youth to lead.

“We are trying to disciple the younger generation so that they can lead our church,” Bonilla said.

She shares the first step she took to assess the younger generation’s needs.

“In my first year as a youth director, one of the first things that I did to know how the youth feels in relation to our church is I developed a survey,” Bonilla said. “And some of the questions that I asked were: ‘How do you feel when you come to our church?’ Fortunately, many of the young people said they felt welcomed and part of the family.”

She explained the church’s adoption ministry and how they try to fill the void students feel by being away from home.

“The previous youth director created this adoption program where students and young adults who don’t have family nearby can be adopted by our church family,” Bonilla said. “They invite them for lunch and just kind of take care of them as if they were their parents here. To make sure that if they need anything that there is a family here who is taking care of them.”

SuCasa’s administrators try to make themselves available to supply every student’s need — be it physical, spiritual, as well as emotional.

“We try to make sure that if there’s any young person struggling with something, they could come to us and to know we are there to help them,” Bonilla said.

They try to tackle the needs stated by the younger generation by assuming a proactive role.

“We have decided to create programs based on the needs they have stated they have,” Bonilla said. “There are young people who are struggling with depression, addictions. We are trying to tackle those topics with the people we invite or the programs we are making. Last month, we had a livestream. One of our youth directors is a psychologist. We were talking about how to take care of ourselves during this time of pandemic. They did such an amazing job. I am very impressed by the youth that attends this church. They are very capable, and they are willing to step up and help.”

As the Sabbath service continued throughout the day both generations gathered in the main room for the worship service where they sang, prayed, and listened to the word of God, as one congregation closing their generational gap.

By Frank Canizares

I arrived in the United States at age 14. And, while I was absorbing, questioning, and subconsciously building my core values, I developed into an Americanized reflection of my native Cuban culture. Yet, while I assimilated, I never felt that I fully belonged to the corresponding American generation for my age group, affectionately (and sometimes not so fondly) called the Millennials.

According to Chuck Underwood, an American generational expert,  my experience is not uncommon. During a recent presentation to Interactive Journalism students at Southern Adventist University, Underwood said the more of your formative years spent in America, the less you’ll belong to your native generation. The opposite is also true.

In one of his studies, Underwood states that there are four permanent phases of generational study: The formative years which mold our core values; the generation to which you’re born,  whose characteristics defines its members; the generational values that guide our decisions; and, the pre-generational years when we do not belong to a generation–from K-12. 

As we go through the  building years of our youth –  keeping and discarding some values- we ask ourselves these questions: Who are we? What do we believe? Finding the answer to these questions will determine how we’ll grow into adulthood and our set of core values. Inevitably, in the process we’ll become a reaction to the older generation. 

As an immigrant who has spent most of my life in the U.S. living in and surrounded by Hispanic culture, I have witnessed the loss of identity among immigrants, especially those who arrived at a young age. The stigma that the immigrant carries when trying to maintain his or her  roots while,  at the same time, engaging in American culture, is a daunting and complicated endeavor, and the results aren’t always predictable.

Some of the fundamental values ​​of my Cuban generation were lost in translation — a generation without hopes and aspirations where education has no value or meaning because it does not justify an economically stable future. By 1980–which marks my native Cuban generation—the Cubans that had stayed on the island because they sympathized with the government or couldn’t find a way to leave, had realized “The Revolution” failed. The biggest trademark of that failure was economics. Therefore, many in my cohort realized that education, because of the way the system worked, would not provide a prosperous economic future. They turned away from education and ventured into the black market and underground commerce.

It’s not fair to generalize, but a good chunk of that generation chose that route. After immigrating to the United States, my encounter with American culture dissolved the negative values ​​that seemed to define me. Because of the values I’ve adopted from American culture, I now have hopes and aspirations; and, I work towards them. I believe in the outcome of education and the kind of future it promises. I find meaning and purpose in life by nurturing my self-esteem. 

At the same time, I’ve managed to rescue some of the positive values of my native generation ​​because they align well with the values of my American cohort.  Like so many Millennials, I maintain a close relationship with my parents, remain active in the community and find meaning in contributing to society. At the same time, some values that define the Millennials, such as patriotism, activism and citizenship, clash with the extremes that were forced upon me while growing up under a dictatorship communistic regime. The impact of those negative experiences has prevented me from fully assimilating to American culture.

That’s why it’s not always helpful to define people by their peer groups. The core values defining a particular generation should not be a reason to typecast. Everyone is an individual, and the core values that we develop are defined by various experiences. I am a living example of one who does not fit the stereotype.