The widening gap between the old and the young.

I’ve been thinking about the differences between today’s paid ministry staff compared to the voluntary workers in the early church. Specifically, I was asking myself the question, “Who was in their twenties and thirties during Paul’s day, and what were they doing?”

Obviously, we can’t really answer that, but it got me thinking about the various demographics they were called to serve. Think about today’s reality for a moment. For those who are currently thirty-something leaders (or even twenty-somethings), today’s ministry work can be a smorgasbord of opinions and preferences.

More opinions and preferences than ever before.

How’s that you ask? Research shows that this is mostly due to the growing life expectancy rates that we have experienced in the past few decades. Stated simply, people are just sticking around a lot longer these days. A lot longer than ever before.

Coming back to the First Century, I wondered, “What was the age range of Believers in Paul’s day? What was their generational spread?”

Too far back? I get it. Instead, let’s just move to the 1950s or 1960s. How many age-related opinions did they wrestle with? Life expectancy was likely a lot longer than in Paul’s day, but people didn’t live as long as they do today.

Before you think I sound heartless, bear with me.

I’m not saying that our increased life expectancy is a bad thing. It’s an amazing gift of modern technology and medicine; a gift of God’s common grace that we should be thankful for. I’m simply highlighting that ministry, especially decision-making and navigating change is more difficult because of the wide generational spread.

The wide range of ages (never mind the growing international demographics) that today’s ministry leaders are called to serve and work with has become a daunting task.

For example, consider leading a Men’s Ministry that has men in their twenties, and up to their eighties. Did Timothy have that range? Was it even common in the 50s and 60s? Think about the expanse of opinion from a 25-year-old to an 85-year-old man, and the leader has to facilitate conversation (maybe debate) while maintaining unity.

The Bible is the only thing they completely agree on, but depending on doctrinal opinion, even Scripture can become a tension point.

What was the life expectancy of Paul’s churches?

I can’t help but wonder, what was the life expectancy of the churches Paul planted? For our generation, life expectancy growth has increased the range of age-related preferences within our churches.

It can be a strange phenomenon to watch people in church foyers, as demographic cliques break off within their preferences and cultural differences. In worst-case scenarios, these age-related cliques go as far as choosing churches based on their demographic preferences.

The classic example might be seniors predominantly preferring the hymns-only, oak-pew chapels they grew up with, while a Millenial crowd chooses a relaxed, movie theatre-style church with a cafe in the foyer. And of course, a wide variety between those two.

I can’t help but wonder, are we destined to keep this up for generations to come?

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts

• How has life expectancy impacted your church and ministries?
• How has a widening generation gap caused divisions in preferences and programs?
• How is your church leadership actively pursuing the mission within these circumstances?