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Looking for ways to recognize senior adults in your small church as valued members? Check out these 3 steps to value and honor senior adults.
It’s Time To Elevate The Value Of Aging Members
Recognize the senior adults in your church as valued members. Dig in to discover what God’s plan might be for them and how they can use their gifts and talents at your small church.
Truly treasure your senior adults and show them they are valued and a loved part of your church community. Sometimes we “say” we treasure our oldest church members, but do we truly show it? Do they know that they are a valued part of our community, or do they just feel like they are being tolerated?
It’s easy for some to think the aging church members are just slowing down or perhaps are just unmotivated to participate anymore. Some may think senior adults would prefer to just sit back, relax, and have people do things for them as opposed to being involved and doing things with others. While this may be true for some, others desire to be an active part of their church and its mission.
As we make plans and form ministries, take time to ask for seniors’ input.
We can’t assume that we know how they feel unless we talk to them, spend time with them, and have real connections with them.
As Jesus followers and Jesus imitators, one of our goals should be to strive to care for the needs of others within our church families. As we follow Jesus’ example, we want to make all of our church family feel cherished and included, especially our senior members!
I’d like to give you these steps to help you connect with them and consider how God can use these treasured gifts in your small church. I assure you that it will be a blessing not only to them but to your entire church family as well!
3 Steps To Honor & Value Your Senior Adults
1. Empathize With Their Circumstances
Points to consider:
- Seniors may be going through a tumultuous time of change in their lives.
- Some of them may be losing the ability to do many things that came so naturally to them before. Their bodies and lives are quickly changing, and much of it is out of their control.
- Some are experiencing memory or mobility issues.
- Financial pressures could be mounting as they face rising costs of healthcare and living expenses.
- The world around us is changing at a rapid pace. Technology and the digital age is constantly updating and moving forward. Imagine what it might be like for those who have little or no experience with technology. Technology for some seniors can be downright intimidating, frustrating, and foreign to say the least!
- Some of our elder members may be losing connections with family or friends. More people today are just “too busy” to take the time to check in with older family or church members.
- Others could be dealing with loneliness due to the loss of connection with friends because of health issues or having to move into a care facility.
- Our aging church family members can also be struggling with loneliness and grief due to losing a spouse or close friends.
- They may be questioning where their worth now lies and where they fit in.
In America today, there are over 65 million senior adults suffering from depression. This can push them into isolation from family, friends, and church fellowship. Isolation can then lead to deeper levels of depression. Many times our seniors do not seek medical advice or counseling for depression because of the stigma related to mental health issues.
Tips To Show Empathy To Your Seniors
- Call and send thinking of you cards to touch base, make sure they’re okay, and help your seniors feel connected. (Avoid text and emails unless you know they are tech-savvy.)
- Minimize your focus to “attract the younger people” or “get younger families” into your church. Aging members, when hearing those statements, can feel unwanted, loss of purpose, and even question their value or worth in their small church. Jesus called us to make disciples. Older and younger. Desire to make your church the best it can be, reaching and ministering to everyone.
- Offer to bring a meal or take a senior out to lunch.
By taking the time to consider what your elder people are going through, you can show compassion, empathy, and pray for them appropriately. You can offer them hope, understanding, and friendship.
2. Embrace Them Where They Are
Be Patient With Seniors And Technology
How many times have the aging members of your church seen the eye rolls and heard the heavy sighs from younger people who are impatient with them because a senior adult can’t understand technology or struggles to use a new app or a smartphone? Those actions aren’t uplifting. They can be very hurtful to someone who is trying their best to do something they don’t understand.
Be proactive. Be intentional. Offer a basic tech class where some of your younger people make themselves available to show seniors how to learn new systems or apps. Provide a safe space for your senior members to ask questions without feeling judged. What a great way to make relationships between the generations and help our seniors to embrace or at least use technology.
Involve Your Seniors At Your Church
- Helping with preparing art projects for children’s teachers
- Sending out encouragement cards to those who are sick or discouraged, to the missionaries your church supports, or to kids who are away at college
- Making up gift bags for visitors or party favors for special events
- Making phone calls checking in on those who are homebound or have lost touch
- Proofreading and folding bulletins
- Putting church labels on books or devotionals that are given away
Many of our senior members have the time to help if we can provide them with the materials and instructions. This is a great way to engage them in ministry and let them be fulfilled.
Think Practically About Your Aging Members’ Needs
Put ministries in places that encourage fellowship and connections for our older members. We don’t want them to be isolated. Listen to what they would like for fun and help to facilitate it. Laughter and friendship are so encouraging at any time in your life, but especially as you are aging!
Think about people who have mobility issues. Make sure you have spaces in your worship center for those who may need walkers or wheelchairs. Reserve some spaces on the center aisle so that those with mobility issues can get in and out easily.
Educate children about carelessly running in and around people before and after services. Teach them empathy and care for those who are their elders.
Set up a transportation pool where church folks can volunteer to bring seniors to appointments or pick them up for Bible study or church events. Many don’t like to ask or impose on others for a ride, but if you provide that service willingly, they will be more apt to sign up.
If your church has Bibles in the pews or chairs, have some large print options available. Consider large print options if your church gives away devotionals. The Daily Bread has large print options readily available.
Look into online businesses that specialize in assistive learning devices specifically for churches. It would be a valuable investment in welcoming people who have hearing impairments.
Take a look at your senior members, and listen to their needs. How can we, as a church family, assist them and care for them well?
3. Empower Them To Use Their Gifts
Think of the years of experience and ministry that are represented by the senior members of your church. They have seen more than we can possibly imagine. They have held various jobs, taught children, engaged in life, faced crises, and experienced a myriad of challenges as well as victories in Christ.
In our senior adults, we have a treasure vault of ideas, advice, and knowledge just waiting to be uncovered. Take time to connect with the senior members, get to know them, see where their life has taken them, and ask what kind of faith journey God has led them on. You will see what treasures they are to our small churches.
Encourage your older members to be part of planning parties. Here is a link on how to have a planning party for your small church ministry. This one is written for women, but can be adapted to any kind of ministry: Your Best Ever Women’s Ministry Planning Party.
Senior Adults Can Engage In Student Ministry
What kinds of professions are represented by your senior members? Use your elders’ knowledge to encourage others in ministry.
- A retired teacher could share tips on managing classroom chaos, ideas for review games, and how to connect with students.
- A retired businessman could help your admin to work on promoting church events or figuring out a budget. Perhaps they could host a class on how to prepare for a job interview.
- A retired mechanic could offer to teach kids about how an engine works. Perhaps they could teach teens and single moms how to do basic car maintenance.
- A retired music teacher may offer to give free lessons to kids in your church to train them to be part of the worship team one day.
You get the idea. The possibilities are great for encouraging the participation of our older members as well as connecting the generations together. We can truly help each other!
Pair up your senior members with younger members in a prayer partnership. Have your children fill out prayer cards for the new school year with their requests, concerns, birthday, and biggest hope for the year. Print out the cards, and give them to your senior members to pray for the children. They can also send them cards on their birthdays. At the end of the school year, host a party and have youngers and olders sit at tables together discussing the year! A great way for intergenerational ministry to happen. Never forget your senior members may be awesome prayer warriors.
Church families are made up of all kinds of people, talents, and gifts, young and old alike! God has created us to be one body working together in many parts to accomplish His plan. We are all included in that plan, not just young people, everyone!
Treasure Hunting
So go “treasure” hunting in your own small church, and see what God has blessed you with in your senior church members. As you take the time to connect with them, build relationships, and listen to them, I promise you will find gold!! The Lord will bless your church, and people will see the difference. The joy will be evident to everyone, not only just to those inside your small church but to visitors from your community as well. The biggest blessing will be to your senior members, as they realize that they are treasured and not just tolerated!
Read More:
5 Tips To Engage Older Congregation Members
