A Boomer Bash

Ministry with boomers. We know it’s important. We know millions of people need it. So what do we do?

A church that is effectively ministering with the new old will have a variety of components, including service, intergenerational ministry and spiritual growth. But one element of ministry with boomers is providing them with places to connect with their peers.

An Example of Reaching Out to Boomers

Northshore Baptist Church in Bothell, WA has an innovative and progressive ministry with baby boomers. Led by Richard and Leona Bergstrom, they and their team developed their first “Baby Boomer Bash” in 2006 when the first of the boomers were turning 60 years old. It was created to be a fun event where boomers could gather and celebrate this milestone.

Now, six years later, the Boomer Bash is an annual event that draws nearly 300 boomer-age adults. Themes for the Bash have included, a Beatles night, a soda-shop/50s theme, a beach theme, a cruise event, an American Bandstand, and their most recent, a Luau.

I’ll be one of the first to say that we must be careful to not build a ministry for boomers primarily around the social component and the Bergstrom’s agree. In fact, right now the key focus of Northshore’s ministry with boomers is to help boomers discover (or rediscover) their purpose for this unique stage of life. They want people to connect with who God has made them to be and engage with Him and His work wholeheartedly.

But social events, such as the Boomer Bash, have a place in helping to accomplish this goal. Here are a few reasons why we should incorporate a few fun, social opportunities into our ministries.

Reasons for Including Social Events in your Boomer Ministry

1. Something like a Boomer Bash can help to “re-brand” your older adult ministry. If you have had a traditional senior adult ministry, doing a targeted event to boomers helps to communicate that you have a ministry for the new-old. And this ministry is different than the current senior adult ministry.

2. Not only does Northshore use the Boomer Bash for “re-branding”, they also view this as an opportunity to gather all the boomers together once each year. An occasional big event can give your boomer ministry its own identity.

3. Social gatherings can be a launching pad for sending boomers out to serve in a variety of different ministries, both inside and outside the church.

4. Social events are a great way to assimilate people who have just started coming to church. When someone is new to a church, they often look for others with whom they can relate, peers who are sharing similar life experiences.

I’d love to hear what you’ve done in terms of social events to reach out to boomers. How has it been received? What ideas do you have for good boomer events?