Intergenerational missiology: A systematic and transferable missiological framework for intergenerational mission

This article addresses the absence of a systematic missiological framework for intergenerational mission. While contemporary missiology has developed transferable models for engaging ethnic, geographic, and diasporic difference, generational difference within shared ecclesial and social spaces is often treated as a pastoral or programmatic concern rather than a missiological one. To address this gap, this study develops a transferable framework for intergenerational mission within contemporary United States ecclesial contexts, structured around four interrelated components: (1) a cultural exegesis of generations as culturally differentiated formations analyzed through recurrent orientations rather than fixed typologies; (2) an adaptation of Enoch Wan’s missional categories of mission to , through , with , and by/beyond generations; (3) an account of generational mobility through push, pull, and relational circulation dynamics across physical and digitally mediated spaces; and (4) a recursive praxis cycle integrating cultural interpretation, intercultural–relational engagement, and etic–emic synthesis and reflexive contextualization. Grounded in theological foundations, the framework reframes intergenerational engagement as a missiological task rather than a pastoral or programmatic challenge, offering a contextually situated yet transposable approach for faithful, credible, and fruitful Christian witness in generationally complex societies.