I found some interesting Census data. In 2010 24.3 percent of the population is 55 or older. 24 percent of the population was under 18. For the first time ever, people 55 and older outnumbered the children in America. And the trends will continue to go that way.
How prepared are our churches for this? I did a quick survey of catalogs from Bible colleges and seminaries and counted 84 classes dedicated to ministering to youth and children, and a total of 4 classes dealing with the older population. That wasn't even counting courses on family ministry which would obviously have a heavy emphasis on youth and children.
I find that pretty staggering. No, I don't think it should be equal and I don't think youth and children's ministry should be de-emphasized at all. But there is a pretty significant portion of our population either at or close to retirement age and we have practically nothing in comparison to prepare future church leaders to minister to the unique needs of this generation.
One of my hopes over the next few years is to try to come to an understanding why we have little or nothing in the way of ministry to older adults. Is it a matter of neglect and just not being ready? Is it a philosophical thing? Is it ageism? Seriously, I really do wonder why there are virtually no ministries to older adults. Okay, I should qualify myself a little here. Most churches have visitation to nursing homes and shut ins, and usually have some kind of fellowship group that gathers for dinners every once in awhile and has some kind of cutesy name. But honestly? There are a lot of older adults who want nothing to do with that because it just makes them feel, well.... old. For all intents and purposes it seems to me that ministry to older adults seems more of an afterthought than anything else.
It maybe isn't a fair comparison to compare to the very extensive training we provide to those ready to minister to children and youth. You've probably heard the same (or similar) statistic that I've heard, and that is that 93% of those who become Christians do so before they turn 18. That would be a pretty compelling reason to devote a lot of resources to ministering to youth.
Having said that, I was looking through some of the data from the Barna Research Group and found a couple of interesting statistics. One survey showed that 66% of adults claiming to be Christians said they became Christians before the age of 18. If the 93% was true, why the 66% in this survey? What about the 27% difference? Okay, that leads me to another statistic that shows something like 70% of youth who were in the church leave before they turn 30. With that in mind, the 93% and the 66% could be compatible. One is the number who become Christians, the other reflects the number who continued to believe.
Where am I going with this? Maybe these numbers are telling us not to put all our eggs into one basket. Again, I think ministry to youth and children is incredibly important, because we're talking about a time frame when people are the most open to the Gospel. I think however that we make a mistake by assuming that because only 7% of Christians become so after age 18, that adult ministry is not nearly as effective.
All this talk about the 7% and the 93% almost seems like a discussion of the Occupy movement.
But here's the deal. The fact that 34% of adult Christians became Christians AFTER the age of 18, in light of the 93/7 statistics, tells me that those who accept Christ as an adult are dramatically more likely to stay with their faith. Perhaps you can call it a more genuine conversion. That in itself is pretty compelling reason to put some pretty good emphasis on adult ministry.
And then of course, we get into older adults. Honestly, I don't know what the numbers are as far as the percentages who believe after 55. I'm sure they're pretty low. The fact of the matter is they're pretty likely to stay low given the lack of emphasis we have on ministering to that age group.
That's a shame. This baby boomer generation is very different than those who preceded them into retirement age. It is a healthier, more active generation. Here is the important part: With this particular generation as they reach this stage of their life, there is a greater desire if not need to finish strong, to leave having made a mark on the world. They want to make a difference.
Why is this important? There are a couple of reasons. For one thing, a strong desire to make a difference often leads to a great deal of angst if not crisis, especially if you're looking back and not sure if you did make a difference. That's the kind of thing that makes you start to think about what this whole life thing actually means. Do you suppose that means there might be a bit more of an openness to the Good News?
The other reason it's important is pretty practical. Here's a huge army of people who want to make a difference. Don't you suppose that the church offers some pretty powerful ways to do just that? We've got a pretty small window of time where we can utilize the talents, experience and resources of this generation to do some pretty amazing stuff for people. If we don't recognize that and recognize it soon, there are a lot of other places they can go.
Is this a boat we want to miss?
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