Rather than boomers putting their ministries on cruise control, now is the time for them to take a chance on church planting, to finish their careers playing offense rather than defense.
“Why would you give up your dream job?” The psychologist asked that question at our screening interview with U.S. Missions. I had spent over 6 years as director of doctoral studies at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He wanted to know why I would consider giving up such a position for a new adventure: church planting.
While people decide to plant new churches every day, it is not often they do so in their mid-50s after working in higher education, a role people often see as reserved for later in life. Even the church-planting poster issued by the Assemblies of God depicts an attractive couple in their mid-20s dressed in the casual style of today’s young adult. Having already pastored three churches, should we not have stayed at AGTS until I retired from my dream job?
We would have answered yes, had we not felt called to plant a university church in Berkeley, California, a city of 100,000, 10 miles north of San Francisco. This location, home of the University of California at Berkeley, would be our new home and the site of a new church reaching out to the Cal community. As the vision for Berkeley grew within us, we discovered something: Calling is not determined by age. While our custom is for younger people to plant churches, Peter quotes the prophet Joel: “Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” (Acts 2:17, NIV).
If the church is to reach its potential, it needs everyone. The world knows this. The CEO of General Motors, for example, is my age (55). Surely we do not believe a mid-50s person is capable of leading a major international conglomerate, but lacks the assets to start a new congregation? Perhaps we have used the young because they seem the most willing. After all, why would anyone with anything to lose risk it all on the uncertainties of church planting? Our journey indicates that older people have untapped potential in start-ups as well as in a variety of ministries. Just because you have an AARP card in your wallet does not mean you lack fire in your heart.
This article explores the potential of post-midlife people — the AARP generation — as church planters. While researching this subject, I contacted Ed Stetzer, a missionary strategist with the Southern Baptist Convention, and asked if anyone had conducted a study of older planters. His response was: “I do not know of anyone who has done research like that. Honestly, it is mostly a young man’s game.”1 His conclusion is ironic in a nation that is home to more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 18. The goal of this article is not just to review what is known about post-midlife planters, but also to encourage the AARP generation to be open to this option. Read more
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