A VISION FOR THE AGING CHRISTIAN

James Houston and Michael Parker have produced a valuable resource for Christians who are aging and for their potential caregivers. They share their own stories of aging, their prayer lives, their maturation, their experience of miracles, and their wish to leave an intergenerational legacy. They encourage the value of sleep and provide an extensive discussion of dementia while giving guidance on caregiving for aging parents and loved ones. In a series of appendices they give examples of ministries that cater to an aging population. They encourage families to confer together about caring for aging parents and list the legal, financial, estate, powers of attorney, advance directives for health care, funeral wishes and plans, end of life care, late-life purpose and other agenda items that need to be addressed before it is too late.

In communities that are tilted to an aging demographic such as Florida there is a great need for churches to make provision for ministry to the aging. While there is much written about reaching young people and the need for ministries to youth and young families there is just as much need to reach the elderly for Christ. Many seniors today have been too busy raising families and concentrating on their careers and have neglected the reason for their living, their spiritual lives and preparing for the life to come. They need the Gospel and they need ministries that take seriously the challenges that come from aging: physical decline, loneliness, depression and financial constraints. This book has many excellent ideas for how to address these issues.