The crisis facing our church is people, not budgets. And the people crisis is not that we are becoming fewer, but that those of us in the pews no longer look like our communities.
Of the many differences we might consider, one of the easiest to identify — and the most critical for us — is age. The United Church doesn’t keep records of participants’ ages, but the chart shows the latest Statistics Canada figures for each of the six living generations. The youngest of the Baby Boom generation are now 50; the oldest are entering retirement. Gen Xers are solidly middle aged, 35-49. And Millennials, aged 15-34, now have bragging rights as the largest generation ever at 27 percent of the population.
Want to know how your congregation is doing compared to Canada as a whole? On Sunday morning, ask all those under 35 to raise their hands. Counting children, they should be at least 40 percent of those present. Those over 65 should be about 10 percent.2
Personally, I am glad that I have been able grow older in good health. As my friends joke, “Given the alternative, growing older is better.” But for those of us who love our denomination, the church growing older is not better. We want our church to be young and vibrant.
But trying to “stay young” is an old person’s concern. My 20-something kids aren’t staying young; they are young. And although we live in the same city, we live in different realities. Homes? Cars? Kids? Careers? Marriage? All of these markers of adult stability are illusive for them. And so my kids don’t need my congregation to be more youthful. They need a whole new way of congregating. One that is flexible and mobile, and that connects using multiple platforms. One that assumes that debt, under-employment, self-employment and transience are normal. One that is also authentic, substantive and personal.
I wonder if our congregations have the courage to abandon old wine skins for the sake of the culture that is already upon us?
Rev. David Ewart is a United Church minister in Vancouver.
Published in the November 2014 issue of The United Church Observer, page 43. The Observer now operates as Broadview magazine.
Reality Check Revisited.
In 2014 I wrote a series of articles for The United Church Observer magazine called "Reality Check." They were based on projecting what the United Church would look like in 2025, its 100th Anniversary. Given that we are now engaged in Toward 2035, I wondered if what I said then might have relevance for where we are now.
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Notes:
- The graphic was copied from The United Church Observer. The Observer now operates as Broadview magazine.
- Gen Alpha and Gen Beta have now (2026) become the youngest generations: those 2-13 and those 0-1; and are 12% and 1% of the total Canadian population.
Millennials are now 30-45; Gen Z is 14-29; and are 22% and 19% of the population.
Boomers are now 62-80 and 21% of the population.
Including children, more than 50% of Canada's population is under 45.
A bit more than 25% is over 60.
