The Segregation of the Church

There are so many ways to divide the church. Our past has often included division by race. I am glad to see that changing. I love that my church has people of different backgrounds and races. Heaven will certainly include people of every tribe and tongue.
Segregation by race has been accepted and justified by the homogenous growth principle. That is the principle that people tend to come to Christ through churches that are much like they are. But isn’t the ideal something better than churches that are segregated by race?
Today’s churches have a new way to divide.  They are often segregated by age. There is a tendency among church plants and existing churches to divide by age. Often the style of music participates in this segregation. I love that my church has people of every age. God loves people who are young and old with different preferences or interests regarding music.
Segregation by age has been accepted and justified by the homogenous growth principle. But isn’t the ideal something better than churches that are segregated by age?
Isn’t the ideal that churches be neither all old or all young? Shouldn’t we keep in mind this ideal when envisioning the future of our existing church or planting our new church? Couldn’t the young learn from the old and the old from the young? Is this too great a dream?
The result of a multi-generational church includes some give and take on musical volume and style. But it also includes the great blessing of young and old connected. It also includes the mixture of the wisdom of age and the enthusiasm of youth blended into a soupy blessing of mutual benefit. That is a benefit worth considering as we think of the future of our churches.

Might the church benefit from some serious efforts at integration?