There’s a constant process happening in the United States that unfolds so slowly it’s nearly impossible to detect on an individual level—generational replacement. It’s a simple demographic concept: older people die and are replaced by younger ones who age into adulthood. The younger cohort has a different composition than the grandparents they replace. This is how the United States is rapidly moving toward a future in which a majority of its residents will not be white.
The same process is likely happening in your church, too. One funeral every few weeks or months doesn’t seem like much, but look back over the last couple of years and you’ll see those numbers add up. The empty seats on Sunday morning start to multiply unless a comparable number of baptisms offsets those funerals.
That’s why understanding the religious composition of young adults is so important. Fortunately, we have a great way to
