Read "No Country for Old People" in Key Links

After 4 months of digging for information to emphasize that society in general and the church specifically are going to be flooded by 76 million Boomers who, by 2012, will be finishing their first careers.

Neither the government, the media nor the banks have made any provision for the oncoming Boomer Wave.

Marc Freedman, chief executive of Civic Ventures, a think tank focused on the aging society, is the author of "Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life." In the latter part of January 2008, he wrote an article "No Country for Old People" in the Washington Post. I have a link to that article in the Key Links list to the left. I encourage you to read it. Very well done and focuses with clarity on this neglected element of our society.

We are going to have a second round of meetings in April at the River Hills Christian Church in Loveland, Ohio. We will encourage Seasoned Believers (Christian Boomers) to share their dreams and their experiences in a collaborative way to create new businesses (both for profit and non profit) in order allow them to fulfill their desire to continue to contribute in a significant way to the community.

In the greater Cincinnati Metro Area (9 counties), there will be, according to the U S Census Bureau, some 577, 000 Boomers who will be in their “bonus round” by 2012.

An article quoted in a book I read about boomers called The Boomer Century 1946-2046: How America's Most Influential Generation Changed Everything by Richard Croker caught my attention. The article (page 237)is entitled The Church In 2011: Catching The Age Wave by Thom Rainer. Dr Rainer makes some observations (listed below) based on his research of the topic that reflect how I have been feeling too.

Dr. Rainer says, “Most cutting-edge ministries in the church for the past 40 years have been aimed at reaching the younger generations. Indeed, churches should continue to reach young people with the gospel. But few churches have given much thought or resources to reaching older generations. And if something does not change in our churches, this age wave will pass by with millions never connecting with the church, and with millions never responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

He continues, “Most leaders admit that they have not even thought about the issue, much less strategically planned to reach this older generation.”

A few more observations by Dr. Rainer:

"About two-thirds of the 76 million boomers are unchurched, which means they attend church no more than twice a year.

The senior boomers will have the largest accumulated wealth of any group in America’s history.

This age wave will include tens of millions of men and women who want to make a difference in their older years. They have pursued many paths to happiness, and the unchurched boomers tell us that none have proved satisfactory.

These older adults will respond poorly to most forms of senior adult ministries in churches today. They will walk away from churches that focus on travel and entertainment as the primary “ministries” to senior adults. They want to invest themselves in something that is meaningful and longer-term.

These new senior adults will not perceive themselves to be older adults, and any organization that communicates to them that they are old will quickly lose the allegiance of this generation.


THE BOOMER BLOOGER