Congregation-Based Services for the Elders

Abstract

This article uses data from the 1998 National Congregations Study, a nationally representative sample of religious congregations in the United States, to provide an overview of church-based services for the elders. The first goal is to describe the prevalence of formal and informal services for this population; the second goal is to examine the types of services being offered, paying particular attention to the prevalence of health-related programs for the elders. Logistic regression is then used to identify characteristics of congregations that do provide services for the elders. The analyses show that religious congregations offer services for the elders at lower levels than previous studies have led us to expect; furthermore, few of the programs offered for the elders are related to health promotion. Finally, in examining correlates of sponsorship, churches that are active in other types of programs are most likely to offer services for the elders.