They only know they don't want to be like their parents. Many of these young adults therefore withdraw from church participation as a way of consciously or unconsciously differentiating themselves from their parents. Congregations reach only a small percentage of the people who are wandering toward adulthood through this nine-year wilderness. Baby Busters who elect to reconnect with congregation life currently do so at a median age of twenty-seven. By this time, they are married and their first child is one year old.
Parenthood jolts many people into adulthood.
They recognize their influential role in determining this child's life values. The first Baby Busters graduated from college in 1987. This group is now thirty years of age, so churches have an opportunity to connect with a three-year segment of the Baby Buster generation. By the year 2002, churches will have the opportunity to connect with a ten-year slice of the Baby Buster generation. At that point, churches will win or lose the competition for the spiritual loyalty of these young adults.