If a pastor were to tell me that the young adults in his church were not giving, I would neither be surprised nor expect this to be the last time I would hear such a complaint. Recently, a pastor explained to me that the young adults in his church were not giving because they were neck-deep in student loans, bought homes they could not afford, and were unable to curb their expensive lifestyles. While there is certainly some merit to his observations, I wondered whether he could recall his own experience roughly 20-30 years earlier.

Unfortunately, economics is not included in the usual course load at most Bible colleges and seminaries; and, I would not have expected my friend to be familiar with the economic theories of intertemporal consumption. These theories seek to explain how we save and consume over the course of a lifetime and might offer some insight in the giving habits, or lack thereof, he was observing.

Lower Wages

It doesn’t take a Nobel Prize economist to convince us that wages peak for most people between 40-50 years of age. Young adults in their 20’s and 30’s, for a variety of reasons, simply do not carry home as much cash as older adults. Regardless of whether they are compelled to give 2% or 10%, this portion of a younger worker wages is going to be less. Churches typically observe this upward wage trend as giving increases among those over forty.

Living Expenses

About the time our wages peak, we also see a decrease in our living expenses. Our children begin to leave home, hopefully with their own student loans; and, our mortgage is nearing its final payments. In the last 10-15 years, this decrease in living expenses among baby-boomers came as no surprise to retailers, and mega-churches everywhere have been built on this additional disposable income.

Accumlated Wealth

The most substantial gifts ever made to an organization are typically the result of accumulated wealth. Six and seven figure gifts are not given out of income, they come from assets which do not accumlate over night and are typically given by those over sixty-years old. Fifty years from now, those young adults who don’t give enough will have paid off their mortgages, sent their children to college, financed their retirement, and accumlated a tremendous amount of wealth in their 401(k)’s. They will be financing the church of tomorrow.

This is not a list of reasons to excuse anyone from giving. What it is, however, is an observation that our ability to give changes over time and that the most substantial gifts are likely to come at the end of our lives. As church leaders, we must be careful not to interfere with this process - recognizing that at times our capacity to give will be less than other times in our lives.

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Jason Lewis leads the fundraising, marketing, and recruitment efforts at Logos Academy; an intercultural, Gospel-centered school located in York Pennsylvania. In addition to his full-time work, Jason routinely speaks to groups about whole-life stewardship, generous living, and effective ministry advancement. You can learn more at The Generous Life.