Who is the Encore Generation?

If you haven't already noticed, America is growing old. Leadership Network (LN) tries to keep its eyes on the future of North American and Global Culture. They realize that America is growing old. Ken Dychtwald, the founder and president of Age Wave recently stated that two thirds of the people who have ever lived beyond the age of 65 are alive today. The number of Americans age 55-64 will increase by more than 70 percent between the year 2000 and 2020. The number of Americans 65 and older will increase by about 55 percent in the same period of time. By contrast, here are the percentage changes for the following age groups: Under 14 (+8%), 15-24 (+9%), 25-34 (+7%), 35-44 (-10%), 45-54 (+2%).

This age wave is running rapidly through the nation, and Leadership Network wants to help prepare the Church in America to capitalize on the incredible capacity of the new kind of older adults who are rapidly becoming the dominant fabric of our nation. The New Face of Work Survey (May, 2005) conducted by Princeton Research for Met Life and Civic Ventures indicates that “fully half of all adults age 50 to 70 say they are interested in taking jobs now or in the future to help improve the quality of life in their communities.” The new older Americans not only bring better health, longevity and experience into the mix, but they also desire to invest it back into their communities.

“That’s where I believe a number of us Boomers are going,” writes Ron Crossland of Bluepoint Leadership Development. “We are going to work more casually, work in a different industry, work for different purposes, but work we will. Yeah, some of it will be driven by the fact that we can’t stop just yet because we are anxious about money. And yeah, some of it will be driven by the fact that our spouses will not be able to tolerate our company 100% of the time. And yeah, some of it will be driven by the fact that recess is fun, only for a while. But I believe it will be driven mostly by the fact that we aren’t finished making a contribution — that there’s an encore in all of us.”

This year 4 million more Americans will turn 60, and they will be joined by another 4 million each year for the next 15 years. This is the Encore Generation. An unprecedented number of healthy, capable, experienced adults are expectantly looking for opportunities in which to invest their time, skills and talents to expand the Kingdom in new and innovative ways.

What is your encore going to be?