Should we Age-Grade Sunday School?

Is it better to group people by common interest or to use a person’s age to determine which Sunday School class he attends? This question has been debated by Christian educators for years. Some say that we should group people by common interest or life stages (parents of preschoolers, parents of children, empty-nesters, retired, etc.) while others say we should group people by age (young single adults, young married adults, median adults, senior adults, etc.) In my opinion either way is appropriate, but it is important to group people. Without some form of grouping, it makes it very difficult to know which class to assign a prospect. Also, it has been found that people feel more comfortable around people who have common interests or life experiences. Usually those in the same age group will have the same interests and life experiences. Most young adults are going to like the same type of television shows and listen to the same type of music. Many are beginning to have children whereas senior adults no longer have children at home and listen to a completely different type of music. Young adults may have difficulty relating to senior adults who do not share their same interests. There may be some benefit of having younger adults learn from older adults who have more experience, but many times classes with a wide variety of ages, causes people to be quiet and not enter into the class discussion. What do you think? Leave a comment.