Senior adults comprise a vital part of Alabama Baptist churches. Not only has their past leadership in church ministries built a strong foundation for worship and spiritual training, but today’s seniors continue to provide leadership in all facets of church life. Music, missions, youth and children’s ministries, fellowship, and outreach — no area of ministry can do without the participation of senior adult members.
According to many estimates, the number of people 65 or older is expected to double from nearly 4 million in 2000 to almost 8 million by 2026. As this population of Americans grows, churches can expect that the number of senior adults in their congregations will grow as well. As a result, churches will have to prayerfully consider how to utilize the unique gifts of these “senior saints.”
With this issue, The Alabama Baptist begins “Senior Spotlight,” a monthly series highlighting the issues and concerns of senior adults, their families and caregivers, and the ministry leaders who work with them.
Providing resources
Editor Bob Terry says the Senior Spotlight series will be just one more way The Alabama Baptist provides resources to encourage and equip Alabama Baptists to live out their Christian faith in their personal lives, their professional lives and within their community of faith.
“Our goal is to provide some practical helps for real life issues that seniors face,” Terry said. “Some of the articles will be ‘how-to’ in nature. Other stories will celebrate how seniors are being used in their churches and in the kingdom of God.
“We hope this new section will be inspiring and uplifting,” he noted.
During the next few months, Senior Spotlight will feature articles about many aspects of senior adult life. Many of the articles will be geared toward personal issues, including healthy living, preserving memories, travel, relationships, legal concerns and retirement planning. Additional articles will focus on topics that affect both senior adults and their caregivers, such as dealing with grief and depression.
Other articles will focus on various aspects of senior adult ministry in an effort to equip both senior adults and their leaders for more effective teaching, missions, evangelism and outreach.
And although the articles are geared toward senior adults, everyone can benefit from the tips and information contained in them.
“Insights into everyday problems will be good for all readers, not just seniors,” Terry said. “We are praying God will use this new section to make us all better Christian disciples.”
Betty Moore, director of the “Jolly Seniors” at First Baptist Church, Lanett, said that many senior adults are afraid to discuss issues related to aging but that information about these issues can help alleviate those fears.
“We have to deal with these issues every day, and people need to know about these concerns,” Moore said. “Having [good information] available can help us all make better decisions.”
Pastor David Denson, who works with the senior adults at North Glencoe Baptist Church in Glencoe, believes senior adults are looking for easy accessible information on issues related to their personal and spiritual lives. Caregiving is an especially big concern, he said, as people grow older.
“Any assistance that we can provide for senior adults and their families, any encouragement or wisdom in how best to provide for their needs, will be most beneficial to them,” Denson said.
In addition to the monthly articles, links to Internet resources related to senior adults will be added to The Alabama Baptist Online at www.thealabamabaptist.org.
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