Trends and attitudes are changing for senior adults, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, and the shifts open up a discussion for senior adult ministers.
Changes outlined in the survey include an increased value on independence and a shift in senior adults’ living arrangements by gender.
“After rising steadily for nearly a century, the share of older Americans living alone has fallen since 1990, largely because women ages 65 to 84 are increasingly likely to live with their spouse or their children,” Pew reported.
Living alone
Overall, the share of older adults living alone has dropped 3 percent, to 26 percent, a decline primarily driven by women ages 65 to 84. The percentage for this group dropped eight points since 1990 to 30 percent, a change Pew attributed to more women living with spouses, children or other relatives.
This statistic doesn’t ring true across the board, however.
Ann Self, who has been the senior adult minister at First Baptist Church, Haleyville, with her husband, Bill, for 10 years, said at her church many women over 65 live alone.
Health reasons
“I don’t see (senior women living with relatives) in our church,” she said. “The only time they choose to live with children or relatives is when they can no longer be alone because of their health.”
David Puckett, who previously served as co-coordinator of senior adult ministry at First Baptist Church, Geraldine, with his wife for 16 years, agreed, adding that he’s seen that women over 65 want to live near their children, but not with them.
“They don’t want to interrupt others’ lives so they stay by themselves,” he said.
But living alone can be a two-edged sword. According to the survey, those who live alone reported feeling more socially isolated than those who live with a spouse or other relative. And men who live alone are less satisfied with the amount of friends they have than men who live with others, Pew reported.
So how can churches best minister to senior adults who are feeling isolated while balancing their need for independence?
“It’s a very important thing, the individual independence. [This ministry is] a matter of staying in touch and not just being dropped off the map with the church,” Puckett said. “That’s really the secret to [senior adult ministry] is being able to stay in touch.
“I think one of the problems sometimes is seniors, whether couples or individuals, may not want to actually seek help and they can get isolated especially if their family is limited or not able to help them.
“I think that’s where the Church can be encouraging and realize that there are people who care and not only pray for them but help them too,” he said.
Notification system
First, Geraldine, for instance, uses GroupCast, a mass notification system, to get the word out to members about prayer requests and special needs. Puckett said the automated system has worked better for the church than the traditional prayer chain method because it has made a wider variety of church members aware of the senior adults in the pew next to them.
“Our people found out that they could minister just by going in and engaging in a conversation with someone who may not have had any contact the whole day otherwise,” he said.
Self agreed that keeping a finger on the pulse of the ministry is essential. And at First, Haleyville, the deacons have gotten involved.
“They’ve taken it upon themselves to have a list of all the widows … that they check on,” she said, and it’s a point of contact that makes a big difference in these women’s lives.
Both churches use fellowship meals to keep senior adults socially active, and these meals can be weekly, monthly or just special outings. Just feeling like part of a group, Self said, can be enough to ease feelings of isolation.
“When [my husband and I] started this ministry we asked the pastor at the time, ‘What do you want us to do?’ He said, ‘I want you to make them feel worthwhile, to make them feel like they’re a part of something,’” Self said.
Pay it forward
Another way to accomplish that goal is by paying that worthwhile feeling forward. First, Geraldine, senior adults do this through a weekly visitation ministry to assisted living facilities and nursing homes in their area.
Puckett said, “[Senior adults] have a lot to offer. I think we’re tending to live longer but also with quality health and they’re a group that can minister.”
For resources and ideas for senior adult ministry, visit alsbom.org/seniors.
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