Does your church have a focus on reaching, discipling and engaging senior adults in missions? The fields are certainly white unto harvest. The number of unreached senior adults is growing rapidly.
The Bill and Susan Pierce Institute for Transforming Life Expectancies helps churches and senior adults prioritize this evolving area of ministry. My good friend Greg McNeece is the Executive Director of the Institute.
The world says to retire. Sadly, sometimes Christians apply the word retire to serving the Lord. People may reflect a “I’ve done my part” attitude. Surprisingly, even the church sometimes sends signals to senior adults that “you’ve done your part”.
But God’s word teaches that spiritual gifts are for all of life and, the great commission is always the mission. Senior adults should lean in to serving the Lord, not retire from it. Using our spiritual gifts is not only vital to our maturity as a Christian but it undergirds the health of the church. “O Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together.” Psalm 34:3
I heard about a 77-year-old and a 19-year-old that went on their first mission trip. Both the older person and the younger person were changed by God in amazing ways. They learned that serving the Lord is never about age. It is about our heart being willing and prepared to serve. What a wonderful opportunity we all have to advance the gospel, regardless of age.
What if we changed our minds (transformed our life expectancies) about what we emphasize in senior adult ministry as we move into the future? In the 1960’s, when the number of teenagers was growing rapidly, churches began to engage youth ministers. The emphasis was on evangelism, discipleship and missions (which it still is in youth ministry).
Now that the number of senior adults is growing rapidly, shouldn’t we re-think our focus? Should we engage senior adult leaders who encourage, equip and train senior adults to focus on evangelism, discipleship and missions?
The Pierce Institute is hosting a conference in the fall of 2024. The conference will bring together key leaders who serve in senior adult ministry. A primary focus will be reimagining ministry among this age group. I believe senior adult ministry has a bright future.
Senior adults appear to be ready to mobilize and advance the gospel. In Listening Sessions the Pierce Institute is holding around the state, senior adults are telling us they value relationships and that relationships are key to reaching people for Christ. They also tell us that only about 20% of the older adults in their communities attend church even once a month.
Let’s consider what happens when we begin to reimagine senior adult ministry. A new day really does call for a new way. Let’s focus on evangelism, discipleship and missions. Let’s transform our life expectancies in the area of senior adult ministry.
