A young church planter and a seasoned pastor connect across the generation gap—and their church follows suit.
Last Sunday at Restoration Abbey in North County San Diego, church planter Alex Aguas served the Eucharist with his dad, the Rev. Tony Baron. Baron, 60, held the chalice while Aguas, 27, distributed the bread. There was something simple and right about the two standing side by side.
In fact, the father-son partnership doesn’t end at the Table. Baron is assisting Aguas and his co-planter Matthew Veling, both pursuing ordination in C4SO, in planting a church in San Marcos, California. Over the past year, a group of 30 has been meeting for weekly dinners and in September, began holding Sunday services in a restaurant. Baron, Canon for Special Missions for C4SO and Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University San Diego, serves as Restoration Abbey’s resident priest and advisor. The seasoned speaker, writer and planter also mentors Aguas, Veling and Restoration’s worship pastor Clay Davis on their journey to the priesthood. Together, they dream, pray and map the possibilities for their fledgling church.
“The coolest thing about working with
From a special children’s homily in the service to family-style meals to giving people of all ages a place to serve side by side, Aguas, Veling and Baron model how older and younger believers can listen and learn together and form “unlikely friendships.” Baron suggested the name “Abbey” in part because they loved the idea of a self-sustaining community utilizing the skill of its inhabitants for the benefit of all.
“The generational divide is one of the barriers existing in our backyard,” Aguas explains. “Intergenerational ministry is a big part of who we are. We are trying to connect generations together, and Matthew and I ministering with my dad is a great signpost of that.”
For Veling, serving alongside an experienced priest prevents him from turning ordination into a goal-centric process, and instead allows him the opportunity to learn along the way.
“Serving on an intergenerational team gives us the freedom to follow God’s vision for Restoration Abbey,” he says. “We know as we seek to contextualize the liturgy for our unique area, Fr. Tony is there to support, guide and mentor us through the journey.”
Baron, who was himself mentored by Dallas Willard and his first pastor Gary Stafford, believes mentoring is often the missing ingredient for successful sustainable ministry.
“When a high percentage of seminary students leave the ministry within five years of graduation, I believe the most significant reason is that they were unable to arrange their lives in such a way that would reflect God’s joy, peace, love and contentment within their soul,” he says. “Mentoring is God’s gift to them to ask the deep questions of why, when, and how and to provide a support system that will speak the truth in love and hold their hand steady when needed. Good mentoring is transformative for the mentor and mentee as both grow closer to Jesus because of the relationship.”
With that in mind, Restoration’s strategy is to match healthy, mature Christians or “sponsors” with young pre-Christians who are just learning what it means to follow Christ. In its Southern California setting, the plant draws both lifelong Anglicans and new young believers who have never experienced “high church” of any kind. Restoration uses contemporary music and seeks to leverage liturgy in more plain language while including all the traditional components.
Pizza Nova, the upscale pizzeria where they meet, offers a practical opportunity to reach people of all ages and walks of life. Parishioners share a meal together after each service and seek to build friendships with the hosts, cooks and servers.
“We make sure our congregation is taking good care of the people who serve us,” Aguas says. “I really love that there are hundreds of meals shared in this restaurant during the week, but Communion is the first meal each week.”
As Restoration grows into its vision and ethos, Aguas says he’ll continue to partner with his dad. Every Wednesday morning he and Baron lean over a table at Pizza Nova to work on sermons and share a meal together. A week ago, they had the chance to baptize four people in a swimming pool. Baron blessed the water and also serves as sponsor for Aguas’ best friend, one of those baptized.
“I love the teamwork,” Aguas says. “It’s beautiful to look and see that my dad has made a place for me next to him and invites me to partner with him.”
Learn more at OurAbbey.com.
