Q. What is the history of Church Resources?

A. Church Resources, Inc. was founded in April 1997 as a California non-profit [501(c) (3)] corporation. The initial focus of Church Resources was to help congregations prepare for the effects of mass aging in our society by training eldercare ombudsmen to help members of their congregations who were facing senior needs. This 16-month education phase had both positive and negative outcomes. On the positive side, Church Resources was able to observe directly the growing arenas of senior need in congregations. Negatively, Church Resources was unable to identify the critical mass of interest which was necessary if we were going to continue in the direction we were heading.

In response to this overwhelming lack of interest and vision for ministry to, with and by older adults, a member of Church Resources’ Board of Reference, Dr. Merton Strommen, suggested that we should “turn ourselves to the task of researching senior needs and allow data from congregations to act as an alarm clock to wake-up all expressions of the church.” In response to this suggestion and with the collaboration of Dr. Strommen, Church Resources began to develop a suite of Life Inventories that form the foundation of our research.

Q. How will research help my congregation?

A. There are two distinct methods used to collect quantitative data: (1) Scientific Random Sample and (2) Case Study.

Scientific Random Sample is the most common model used by researchers today. In this method, data is collected from a carefully selected and controlled sample of the entire group. When properly implemented the data is highly reliable even though the sample group is relatively small. The strength of Scientific Random Sample research is that it provides an excellent, comprehensive picture of what is happening overall. The weakness of this method is that while the data is reliable it is not readily applicable. No single congregation or judicatory is like the sample. Ministry needs differ from congregation to congregation, judicatory to judicatory.

Because Church Resources focuses on the end-goal of ministry application, we use a Case Study—Need Based methodology to collect data. We treat every congregation as a unique case. Data from one congregation is not mixed together with data from other congregations. Every individual, congregation and judicatory report is unique to each individual or group. The upside of Case Study research is that the information collected is extremely reliable and readily applicable. The downside of Case Study research is that it is more time consuming and costly.

Q. Why Did Church Resources develop the Senior Ministry Inventory?

A. Church Resources began where congregations face their greatest need and challenge, not necessarily at the point of their greatest interest. The greatest interest among congregations remains in the arenas of families with young children and youth ministry. However, just as the 20th century was the century of youth, the 21st century will be a century of age. As we enter the 21st century the greatest challenge for the greatest number of congregations will be to address ministry needs associated with mass-aging.

This is the first century in human history when the church will face the ministry challenges of mass-aging. The church of every century has known the challenges of aging, we have never faced the challenges of mass-aging.

  • 2/3 of all people in human history who have ever reached age 65 or older are alive today.
  • 3/4 of all people in human history who have ever reached age 75 or older are alive today.
  • By 2030 there will be more people in the U.S. who are over 65 than under 18.
  • The median age is slightly lower in suburban settings and as much as 6-8 years higher in inner-city, small town and rural settings.

  • During the next 30 years it will be possible for many congregations to grow faster by reaching out with programs for older adults than with programs for families with young children. Consequently, so that congregations can identify and focus on the ministry needs of older adults, Church Resources began our suite of Life Inventories with the Senior Ministry Inventory.

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