Proclaimer Blog
Where are all the seniors workers?
Youth workers are invaluable. They are also a very common concept. Churches that don't have paid youth workers generally have unpaid volunteers doing the same role. Churches that have no youth workers often wish they did. There's training available. There are courses. Books. Resources. All good.
But I wish the same could be said for seniors workers. The church has thought very little, it seems to me, about reaching and pastoring an increasingly elderly population. There are theological issues to grapple with – how do I pastor a church member with dementia? There are practical issues to deal with – how do we physically arrange things to make church accessible? There are urgent evangelism issues to deal with – not least, statistically speaking, older folk are closer to the Day than those who are younger (though I recognise there is a common urgency).
Given all of this, it is surprising there are so few (any?) seniors workers. Why? It's tempting to think that your next church appointment must be a youth worker. You see that as intrinsic to the survival of the church. Perhaps you're right. But have you even thought of appointing a seniors worker? It need not be expensive – perhaps a newly retired man or woman; they may have a pension and even some housing. But think of the benefits it could bring…..