In Global demographic trends and their investment implications, Alicia Daily examines the aging trend and its market implications. Lots of great charts.
The implication for missions: most people make their “religious” decisions by their teen years. This is the so-called “4/14 Window.” But as a country ages, it becomes progressively more challenging to reach the population of the country because there are fewer children, but more adults and elderly who are the cultural caretakers and more resistant to changes.
In spite of the difficulties, are we perhaps “giving up” on adults and the elderly? Are there any ministries out there with success in reaching adults and the elderly?
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This one is an out-of-nowhere surprise, Justin. Not only am I writing a book to inspire and motivate fathers and GRANDfathers to a better cooperative role in fathering, I am an old coot living at an RV resort filled with retirees. Our little chapel on the “campus” has seen numbers of what you youngins call “elderly” come to the Lord. It’s like, “Really, is this what being a Christian is like?”. Most have been nominal “American Christians” and wait until the last leg of life to make this discovery. It is really quite wonderful. There are certain characteristics of late-Kingdom-bloomers. Mostly, because most are retired, they enter with maturity, curiosity, and determination to learn and practice as much as they can…sorta like finishing well.
I am pasting the 4/14 window notes into my book notes.
From a mobilization perspective: I’ve always felt there was something a little off about using the stats about the percentage of people who come to Christ as kids as a justification to therefore put more energy into evangelizing kids. I mean, yes, let’s reach out to kids, but is that what the statistic means? Maybe it’s just as much an invitation to look at what’s holding back those who are outside that window and see specific efforts made to serve those who are more likely to need focused, deliberate efforts to reach them. (Since most anything will work with kids?) Increasing our focus on meeting the physical and emotional needs of kids – who are so much more likely to experience disproportionate suffering – is a mandate I can embrace without such reservations. Although, again, it’s an easy sell. Hundreds of Christians will sponsor a sweet little child for every one who will pray for a scary old mullah, right?
From a CPM perspective: when I teach people to do ethnography for strategic purposes I encourage them to explore the patterns of intimacy and influence. The gospel – or any other ‘good news’ – often spreads best through relationships of =intimacy= – e.g., you tell your sister or best friend (or your favorite grandchild) about this wonderful discovery you’ve made, even if you wouldn’t want to identify with it more publicly or tell your enemies about it. But the spread of good news or innovation can be cut off by relationship of =influence= – e.g., your uncle says you can’t keep going to those meetings, you stop going. So, reaching or at least reaching out to and honoring elders is pretty significant in reaching the younger people who are “under” them, as well.
For a Western context: I haven’t read a lot of what the “Finishers” tout, books about walking with God in your second half, etc. – but I did pick up Gordon MacDonald’s “A Resilient Life” and found it very helpful, especially the chapter where he deals with the questions people ask in the different decades of their life. He calls the 20/30-something worship leaders in our churches to recognize that the issues they are dealing with, the questions they are asking, may be quite different from those of their aging congregations – and to listen and adjust their message in order to be more effective in reaching and equipping people in different stages of life.