Author - Ian Knox

 

Source - Faith in Later Life

 

Article -  

When I surveyed 200 people on ‘the person with whom I would most like to share my faith’ only one mentioned the older generations. I find very few churches think about reaching out to older people. This is a huge mistake to make! The world is filling up with older people. This may be the last time we will have people around who have a background knowledge of the Bible: in 1955 over 80 per cent of the population had been to Sunday school. 'Older people' is better than 'elderly' as a term. When does it begin? Some say in the 50s (Saga holidays start at 50). When you were 21, when did you think 'old' started? I put it, when I was 21, at 40. Only when I reached that age did I realise how young 40 was. This is not a 'debate of the age', but about faith-sharing. Having made your hackles rise if you are 55, let's look at sharing our faith with older people. 

 

The problems 

• It is hard to change as you grow old. We may want continuity, not a radical change of lifestyle 
• It is hard to admit that a lifetime of beliefs (or non-beliefs) was wrong. This is the generation that says, ‘I did my best’,  'I did it my way,' 'I never did anybody any harm, 'I'm as good as the next.' 
• It is hard to live with an increasing lack of mobility, an increase in loneliness, bereavement and ageing itself 
• It is hard to face death, and easier to avoid thinking about it. 

 

The pitfalls 

There are three things to remember when getting involved with older people: 

• Don't try to show you 'understand'. How can you, if you are much younger? On the other hand, if you are older yourself, you are the ideal person to share your faith with your peers: that's why evangelism has no retirement date. 
• Don't underestimate an older person's intelligence. They probably know more than you do. They may even know more of the Bible, with a Sunday school and church background. 
• Don't patronise. We tend to speak to very old people as if they were children, which is insulting. ...

 

---

“Faith in Later Life exists to inspire and equip Christians to reach, serve and empower older people everywhere, through the local church.”Faith in Later Life equips a national community of many hundreds of Church Champions for older people who share our mission. We encourage and equip them and others in their churches and communities. This means we influence and impact at a local level, seeing older Christians empowered, and older people in the wider community reached and engaged- with the love of Jesus.
The Evangelism Toolkit is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to share their faith with others. Excerpted from Ian Knox’s book Finishing Well, this toolkit covers a variety of topics including sharing your faith with the bereaved, older people, the sick, your grandparents, and those who don’t leave the home.

---