The church and the elderly: the impact of changing age strata on congregations

This study reports the results of a survey of forty-four Lutheran Churches in the New York metropolitan area. It describes present and projected services and programs churches offer to the elderly, specifically investigating the impact of changing age strata upon congregations. A significant relationship was found between proportion of the elderly within the congregation and the pastors' interest in developing specialized ministries to the elderly. There was also a significant relationship between the proportion of the elderly within the congregation and the pastors' interest in structural modifications of the church building. However, no significant differences were found between the proportion of elderly with the congregation and the actual programs and services to the elderly. This may be an indication that churches with high proportions of the elderly had less financial and congregational resources.