Loneliness among over-50s is a 'looming public health concern' according to AgeUK, having analysed findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. It is estimated that there will be over two million over-50s suffering from loneliness by 2025-26, which is a 49% increase from 2015-16's statistic of 1.36 million. And although the number of people "often" feeling lonely will remain the same at one in 12, with the increase in people over 50 naturally there will be an increase in lonely people.

The suggested causes of this loneliness are bereavement,  poor health, and financial problems. It will be interesting to see the government's new strategy to combat loneliness to see what role the church has in solving this problem, and whether the proposed £11m fund to better connect people across the country will be available to the Christian community.

Does the local church have the answer to loneliness in the over-50s?

So this is an interesting question and clearly the church has the answer. And one that we've looked at before in our blog How Should the Church Tackle the Loneliness in Our Society?

And obviously in theory, the answer has to be a resounding yes. A short look at the Acts 2:42 - 47 gives us a model of how the early church lived and how people were were added to their numbers:

⁴² The believers studied what the apostles taught. They shared their lives together. They ate and prayed together. ⁴³ Everyone was amazed at what God was doing. They were amazed when the apostles performed many wonders and signs. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together. They shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold property and other things they owned. They gave to anyone who needed something. ⁴⁶ Every day they met together in the temple courtyard. They ate meals together in their homes. Their hearts were glad and sincere. ⁴⁷ They praised God. They were respected by all the people. Every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

However, what is stopping us as Christians, and as churches, from engaging with our friends, neighbours, work colleagues, and those that we impact with on a day to day basis?

What is stopping the church being the answer to overcoming loneliness? 

• Is it our culture? Is the type of lifestyle described in Acts appropriate, or even sustainable, for UK's churches today? What is interesting in this passage is the intimacy that the early believers had as they did "life" together. This seems so counter-cultural to the British culture.
• Is it self-doubt? Many of us will ask the question, "What do I have that could possibly help someone older than me?", "I wouldn't even know what to say" or "I don't have anything to talk about". Similar fears as when we're looking at reaching out perhaps to youth (or anyone in a different age bracket in our community!) Crossing age barriers can be daunting but the only way to get over our fears is to try! It can take practice to be bold and start a conversation with someone who is different. I am reminded that the priests of Israel had to step into the Jordan before the waters parted... and it's only by taking that first step that we can see change.  
• Is it selfishness? Some of us, whether we'd like to admit it or not, may also not actually think we have capacity or the will to overcome these social barriers. Most of us have busy lives with hectic schedules and many demands or dependents so why should we be expected to make space for others? This is a challenge to us all. No matter what life stage we are at, the challenge is always there to "lay down our lives as a living sacrifice." It may not result in us spending all our time reaching out to those above 50. However, it does mean that when we feel that prompting to talk to someone, invite them for lunch, stop to share a coffee at church, that we are responsive and act as Jesus would have. 
• Is it because we too are lonely? I am sure we can all relate to this. We all know how it feels to be unseen or feel unheard. When we feel like this, we aren't naturally the first to step up and help others because how can we, when we feel so empty ourselves? This is why I love that Jesus wants to fill us to overflowing. Perhaps we need to spend time letting Jesus fill you to overflowing so that we can be that blessing to others. 

What does this mean for us as a Church Pages community? 

Writing this was a challenge to myself and the team as we seek to see how our role at Church Pages can help, in some small way, combat the issue of loneliness. We hope that as we help churches build websites for their community, they are the very best they can be at reaching out to those who are suffering from loneliness. And for the churches we work with, we want you to be filled to overflowing so we shall try (in our flawed way!) to bless you in how we serve too! 

If you'd like to know more about the Church Pages Initiative, do not hesitate to get in touch with our team.