A few days ago I met up with a senior mission leader. We discussed how the church needs to rethink the role of seniors in missions. The need for missions and missionaries has never been greater. There are not enough missionaries being sent out. Yet there is a potential pool of missionaries that has rarely been called upon — the senior members of our churches.
For the longest time, it was assumed that our seniors are too frail for the life of a missionary. And even if they were sent, there was the possibility that their time of active service would be short as they would either be crippled by serious illness or pass away. The mission leader and I agreed that this is an outdated and wrong view of seniors and their potential for ministry/missions.
We need to take seriously the present situation of seniors. First, there will be many more of us. Right now, about one in five Singaporeans is 65 and above. Soon it will be one in four. In fact, the health authorities are planning for a day when people will live till 100 years. A proportion of seniors will be afflicted with conditions like Parkinson’s and dementia. This number too will be on the rise. And the church must promise to honour and care for those struggling with health concerns.
However, there will also be more seniors who are healthy and able to contribute to ministry. The fact is we can no longer use the chronological age of a person to judge how strong or how feeble they are. One 70-year-old may be suffering from dementia. Another may still be at the top of his/her game and be able to serve healthily for 10 or 15 more years.
The success of the Singapore health care system means more will live longer and live healthily. Such folks could be a mighty army for the Lord. We need to stop thinking of seniors as just a problem to be solved. Many are part of an army waiting to be mobilised.
…the voices of seniors are growing to a critical mass. Seniors are poised to effect a transformation in society when they live prophetically, not motivated by their professional ambitions, but drawing upon a life of experience with God. (1)
For many seniors, this chapter in their lives is free from the many duties they had when they were younger. Apart from the time they can now give to God’s work, a number of them will also have financial resources that can be mobilised for ministry and missions. And all will have a rich store of life experience that can be applied to Kingdom work. Last I looked, there is no use-by date for spiritual gifts.
In the past, ministry to seniors was essentially keeping them occupied till it was time to go home to the Lord. Hence the prevalence of ukelele classes and line dancing. Nothing wrong with such activities. They are of real help in keeping body and mind active. But there will be those who can still contribute actively to ministry. This group will continue to grow. The church needs a major paradigm shift: from seeing seniors as just recipients of ministry to seeing them as those who can contribute significantly to ministry.
One of my most satisfying ministries is helping followers of Christ get greater clarity as to their vocation. I normally do this with young adults. Those in midlife also find this material useful as they reflect on where they have come from and discern where God wants them to go in the future. I am now thinking of developing material for vocational discernment for those in their senior years. Saints of all ages know that their lives are not their own. Our lives are gifts from God and, regardless of age, we should be good stewards of the lives entrusted to us.
Mobilising seniors — maybe we should start by giving a name to this chapter of life that has more energy. Seniors ministry? Well, that’s ok. But how about Third Age ministry? If 0 – 30 is our first age; 30 – 60, our second age; then 60 and beyond is our Third Age. Churches are now very conscious of our need to reach and mobilise the young. We are long overdue for reaching and mobilising Third Agers.
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(1) James M. Houston & Michael Parker, A Vision For The Ageing Church, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011), 212.