Nursing home boom in China has little government involvement writes ScienceCentric.com. There has been a rapid increase in the elderly proportion of China’s population: the result of declining fertility coupled with increasing life expectancy (natural for a developing economy). China’s over-65s will rise from 8.3% of the population today to 22.6% (329 million) by 2040. In other words, China will have more over-65s in 2040 than America has people today.
The idea of the “4/14 Window” is fairly well known in missions circle: that most religious decisions are made between the ages of 4 and 14. But in a world with increasing life expectancies and aging populations, perhaps we need to rethink why it is that we think “if you haven’t chosen Christ by 14, you won’t choose him at all.” Given it appears we might have a bit longer to reach people, perhaps we ought not give up on those who are over-14, and certainly not those who are over-65.
The question is, who will reach them and by what strategy? I read a lot about strategies to reach children, teens, college-age students, migrant workers, young urbanites, middle-class business men, the absolutely poor, the government officers, the soldiers… but what about the elderly?
If you have a ministry to the elderly amongst an unreached people group, why not drop me a line and tell me about it? Either in the comments below or via email to justinlong@gmail.com.
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