Many would agree that the
senior members of a fellowship act as the backbone as they provide priceless
experience and maturity. Yet when it comes to evangelistic efforts made by our
churches today this senior adult group is by far the most under served and ill
regarded. The reason for this lack of evangelistic effort varies from church to
church. Many of today’s churches have put all their effort into youth and
college ministries as to build a foundation for the future. This is a wise
strategy in many ways but those that are at the closest point of facing
judgment are receiving little to no attention from God’s messengers.
Much of the issue revolves around the ideology of picking
the low hanging fruit first. This is to
say there are far more willing hearers of the Gospel message among other age groups
than that of the senior adult. The other main issue with serving our seniors is
in the complexity and general lack of understanding in how to reach them with
the Gospel of Jesus. While the first issue is a matter of what can easily be
labeled “disputable matters” the latter is simply unacceptable as it implies
that God’s people are allowed to stop loving the lost at a particular age.
We can look to no better starting point then the Bible
itself. We find in both the Old Testament as well as the New that God has a
plan for senior adults and they will indeed “dream dreams”. This prophetic statement began with Joel but
found its way to Peter’s proclamation at Pentecost. The New covenant between
God and man never removed the viability and necessity of the older population.
We later see the Apostle Paul giving a young servant of Christ sound advice
concerning those that are older. “Do not rebuke an older
man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger
men as brothers, older women as mothers, and
younger women as sisters, with absolute purity” (1 Timothy 5:1-2, NIV).
Clearly there was to be much more expectation than pandering
or an occasional serving of our elder members. There was to be respect and this
respect was to be given at the highest order as one would show respect to their
father or mother. A recognition and honoring of life and experience is appropriate
for the lost senior population, and they are in a position that is reserved
especially for their journey in life. “Lost senior adults are at a stage in
life where they are reflecting on the past and are more open to considering
what will happen to them after death”
With other age groups sharing the Gospel becomes more
attractive simply because the society around them is being molded and shaped by
them. Movie nights, volleyball games, barbeques and bonfires are not really
considering the senior adult and thoughtfully so. No one wants to witness an
elderly person get hurt trying to dive for that volleyball. With this in mind
we can begin to formulate a different outreach strategy. “If we as the church
are to reach our society, this means that we should have a thought-out strategy
for ministering to seniors” (Jasko 2012) .[2]
Where do we begin?
Just as we consider the youth and plan volleyball games
and other activities we must now consider what the senior adult would be
attracted to. This will be challenging as our natural thought will look to an
activity rather than a point of sharing the Gospel. Truly, sharing with the
senior adult can appear upside down and for good reason as they are on the back
half of life’s journey. Since a senior has had time to reflect on their own
life and recall past joys and pains their reality calls out for depth, therefore,
we must also be deep. Confirm the reality of faith and just how amazing it is as
it has been working in their life from the beginning until now.
This is relevant and it is empowering because life is not
over and faith is not finished with them, it is much more than they ever cared
to consider it. “Faith is not believing in something you can’t prove, as so
many people define it. It is, biblically speaking, reliance” (Gilbert
2010, 74) .[3]
Start from the beginning and go through to the end as the history of the world
has a way of being captured by the mind of an individual that has considered
their own history within the world. “When it was all over, the guilt of Adam
had inflicted on his entire race would be defeated, the death God pronounced
over his own creation would die, and hell would be brought to its knees” (Gilbert 2010, 60-61) .[4]
The fight is not over and the war can still be won.
Asking our seniors open ended questions is almost irrelevant as simple yes and
no answers have incredible impact for those that understand their time on earth
is limited. We do not change the message or lessen its impact in any way, shape
or form but we deliver it with care to the person we are reaching. “While being
sensitive to different age and gender groups, they can remain true to the
Gospel. They are both responsible and relevant in their witness”
The same desperation and zeal should be in place when
evangelizing the lost senior as it is with any other age group. This being said
it will require your desperation and zeal to be mature enough to meet a person
where they are at and not where your own desire and will wants them to be. The
senior population is on the lookout for scam artists and the like as they have
seen almost everything under the sun. We will not scare them into repentance
and cheap tricks like distracting trips to Seven Flags will not entice them.
Real faith rooted in Christ and on display for them to see and experience is
the call and perhaps the reason the senior adult is not being reached.
In summary, the lost senior is very much on the heart and
mind of our God. He has a plan for them
and a purpose for their life, both now towards the end of it and of course
after it. There is an understanding of
mortality that is hard to consider at other stages of life and in this there is
a starting point for the Gospel. “Sometimes,
sadly, one of those attending the Senior Citizens’ work dies. How important to
ensure that such a person heard the gospel preached, saw the message lived out
amongst the Christians, and had the opportunity of salvation” (Bennett 2013) ![6]
While reaching those in various age and gender groups are of the utmost
importance we cannot neglect those that are at the closest point of facing
judgment.
Bibliography
Bennett, John. Working With Seniors Citizens -
Part 2. 2013.
http://www.preciousseed.org/article_detail.cfm?articleID=3182 (accessed
November 16, 2015).
Gilbert, Greg. What Is the Gospel? Wheaton,
IL: Crossway, 2010.
Jasko, Ken. Senior Adult Ministry. 2012.
http://www.njag.org/senior-adult-ministry (accessed November 14, 2015).
Lecture 3. "MIN-525: Evangelism and
Discipleship." Grand Canyon University. Phoenix, AZ, 2014.
McRaney, Will. The Art of Personal Evangelism.
Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2003.
[1]
McRaney, Will. The Art of Personal Evangelism. Nashville, TN: B&H
Publishing Group, 2003.
[2]
Jasko, Ken. Senior Adult Ministry. 2012.
http://www.njag.org/senior-adult-ministry (accessed November 14, 2015).
[3]
Gilbert, Greg. What Is the Gospel? Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.
[4]
Gilbert, Greg. What Is the Gospel? Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.
[5]
Lecture 3. "MIN-525: Evangelism and Discipleship." Grand Canyon
University. Phoenix, AZ, 2014.
[6]
Bennett, John. Working With Seniors Citizens - Part 2. 2013.
http://www.preciousseed.org/article_detail.cfm?articleID=3182 (accessed
November 16, 2015).
