Let us begin by looking at the Age Wave in order to catch the middle and older adult awareness. 

The age wave began to break in the mid 1990′s as the first of 76 million U.S. baby boomers turned 50. 

Looking at this ever growing demographic the church needs to, if they have not done so, adopt a new paradigm in reaching older people beyond “happy time travel” and “covered dishes”. 

Church leaders need to recognize and tailor ministry to include;  

1. Middle adults 50 to 70. 
2. Older adults 70 to 80.
3. Mature adults 80 and over. 

Older adults that are in many churches are an untapped resource.  In my case, significant living is very important to me.  Most older adults have a yearning to do something significant with their lives.  May you ask the question, “What has your church done or is planning to do to provide significance in the second half of your older adult lives membership?”

Let me leave you with some facts in regards to middle and older adults: 

1. The number of people over 65 will be greater than people 18 and younger. 
2. They comprise 20% of the population. 
3. 87 million older adults are estimated to be alive by 2040. 
4. At present, if a woman survives to the ag of 65, she can expect to live on the average another 19 years, five which shall be years of dependency. 
5. For men, life expectancy after 65 is approximately 15 years, with three years of dependency. 
6. 34% of all Americans are 50 years of age or older. 
7. Every 7 seconds another person turns 50. 
8. People age 65 number over 35 million, representing one of  eight Americans. 
9. The projection of the “older” Americans is 20% by 2030. 
10. More than 200 Americans reach age 100 each week.

Now that we have become aware of the ministry need for reaching the middle, older, and mature adult population, we shall move to the steps of  how to organize a group in each church.  This will be covered in our next blog.

Lou