Mention the term “Baby Boomers” and depending on the age of the person you are speaking to, you may get comments ranging from “industrious” and “resilient” to “narrow minded” and “stubborn”. Due to their hard work and stage of life, most top leadership positions in churches are currently held by Christians of this generation and as a result, there is seldom much effort made to understand them.

Here you will find insights culled from our qualitative ethnography and quantitative survey results with Baby Boomer Christians in Singapore. The archetypes are in no way fully representative of all Christian Baby Boomers in Singapore and are not mutually exclusive of one another. It is likely that any Baby Boomer that you meet may exhibit characteristics of multiple or even all of the archetypes. The archetypes developed are an attempt to communicate the experiences that Christian Baby Boomers had in their faith journey which were instrumental in shaping their mindsets towards church and spirituality.

Christian Baby Boomer Archetypes

Broad Trends Identified Through Ethnography

• Physical presence in church (often defined by service attendance) is perceived as crucial for faith.
• Family and workplace values are imported into the church.
• Personal mentoring/discipleship relationships were rare.
• The bulk of their Christian lives were lived with the spiritual narrative: “The world behind us, Christ before us”.
• The para-church movement in Singapore was very influential during their early and middle adulthood years.
• High regard for the Institutional Church and its traditions and practices.
• Good Biblical teaching is perceived as key to the health of churches.
• The flaws of the church is met with lament rather than criticism.
• Boomers are both hopeful and critical about Millennials.

Looking for more?

Mention the term “Baby Boomers” and depending on the age of the person you are speaking to, you may get comments ranging from “industrious” and “resilient” to “narrow minded” and “stubborn”. Due to their hard work and stage of life, most top leadership positions in churches are currently held by Christians of this generation and as a result, there is seldom much effort made to understand them.

Here you will find insights culled from our qualitative ethnography and quantitative survey results with Baby Boomer Christians in Singapore. The archetypes are in no way fully representative of all Christian Baby Boomers in Singapore and are not mutually exclusive of one another. It is likely that any Baby Boomer that you meet may exhibit characteristics of multiple or even all of the archetypes. The archetypes developed are an attempt to communicate the experiences that Christian Baby Boomers had in their faith journey which were instrumental in shaping their mindsets towards church and spirituality.

Christian Baby Boomer Archetypes

Broad Trends Identified Through Ethnography

• Physical presence in church (often defined by service attendance) is perceived as crucial for faith.
• Family and workplace values are imported into the church.
• Personal mentoring/discipleship relationships were rare.
• The bulk of their Christian lives were lived with the spiritual narrative: “The world behind us, Christ before us”.
• The para-church movement in Singapore was very influential during their early and middle adulthood years.
• High regard for the Institutional Church and its traditions and practices.
• Good Biblical teaching is perceived as key to the health of churches.
• The flaws of the church is met with lament rather than criticism.
• Boomers are both hopeful and critical about Millennials.

Looking for more?