Is Your Church Gray Friendly? - May 27th, 2009

Is your church gray friendly?  At a time when people and churches are focused on “going green” to protect the environment and be more efficient with natural resources, our U.S. population is going “gray.”  The aging of baby boomers makes the pre-seniors (aged 55 to 64) this decade’s fastest-growing age group, expanding nearly 50 percent in size from 2000 to 2010.

Check out these stats from AARP magazine:

  • 41 percent of American adults are over 50, the highest percentage in U.S. history
  • People over 55 own 77 percent of all financial assets in the U.S.
  • Adults over 50 account for 45 percent of U.S. consumer spending at $2.1 trillion per year
  • By 2011, the American 50+ population will surpass the 100 million mark (September & October 2008)

Most churches are focused on reaching the “18 to 18” category—adults over 18 with children under 18.  But the percentage of households with children under 18 is at a historic low.  While this intent is strategic given that the majority of people who make a decision for Christ do so before the age of 18, the current graying of America creates a reason to pause and reconsider our ministry models.

William Frey wrote, “Today’s seniors and pre-seniors are upending traditional notions of how and where Americans spend their later years.  As older populations age in place . . . public policies must respond to the new stresses they will exert on health, transportation and social-support systems” (“Mapping the Growth of Older America: Seniors and Boomers in the Early 21st Century”, The Brookings Institution, May 2007). 

What is your church’s plan to reach or retain the growing and changing population of pre-seniors (aged 55 to 64), active retirees (aged 65-75) and seniors (age 75 and up)?  Walt Schoedel referred to these three groups as “the Go-Go’s, the Slow-Go’s and the No-Go’s” and the ministry approach needed for each group is different.

Do you have a staff person dedicated to developing opportunities to meet the needs of the 55+ population in your church and community?  In 2006, half of Americans 55 years and older volunteered with some nonprofit agency.  Is your church effectively involving this generation in meaningful ministry inside and outside of the church?  What support services can your church provide to these adults who need supplemental income or who have had to delay retirement to offset their recent financial losses?    

Someone recently said, “Today’s 70-year old is yesterdays 50-year old.”  The senior adult population is changing and therefore the church must meet the shifting needs and desires of this growing population.  Creatively explore how your church can “go gray” effectively and successfully.