
While
certainly there are grandparents in your Senior Saint’s Ministry
and many of them have white hair, the average age a person becomes a
grandparent for the first time is 48 . . . yes, 48! How old are you?
How far from . . . or close to . . . are you to being 48 years old?
I
was 48 when my first grandchild was born and I was not ready to enter
the Senior Saints Ministry!
How
old do you think the “average” grandparent in the USA is today?
The
average age of grandparents in the USA today is 57 – I am 57 and I
am still not ready to enter the Senior Saints Ministry! People in
their 40’s and 50’s tend to still be working; they are not
retired. They do not tend to see themselves as “old”.
Grandparents, yes. Old, no.
In
fact, most of the grandparents of the children in your ministry are
young, relatively speaking. They are mostly still working and when
they think of the Senior Saints Ministry at their church, they
picture their parents.
Who
are these, “not-old grandparents”? Well . . .
-
75% of them are on the internet,
-
70% use search engines to find information,
-
63% shop online,
-
56% share photos online (mostly of grandchildren – at least in my case)
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and 45% use facebook (otherwise known as the New Grandma’s Brag Book).
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90% of grandparents talk about their grandchildren – and enjoy doing so,
-
96% of grandparents bake cookies
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and 2% of grandparents have been skydiving!
-
These are interesting and fun facts, but one more is important – 13% are primary caregivers to their grandchildren.
When
you think about the grandparents of the children in your ministry,
these are the people to picture.
The
bottom line is, primarily the grandparents of the children in your
ministry are young, engaged, tech-savvy and they care about their
grandchildren. If you are able to engage these grandparents in your
Children’s Ministry, they will bring with them years of experience
with children and a passion to see the children they love – and
others like them - come to know and follow Jesus.
So, engage the grandparents - it will make a difference in your Children's Ministry and in the lives of the children in your ministry!
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