It’s like the few times in life when I’ve made a commitment to fast from something, a grumpy, greedy monster takes over my heart just a few hours into the commitment. In the first few days, I become so irritable because my comfort levels are being ruffled and my schedule is being changed drastically (and naturally I’m not one to embrace change and new things very easily).

Deep down, I know releasing the old and opening myself up to change and new habits is great, but outwardly I fight it. I revolt and rebel.

I recently saw this display happen once again as my husband and I committed to change our eating habits and start a raw food cleanse – aka a really healthy eating program that lasts for 21 days. During the first week of February, my husband and I said goodbye to some of our favorite foods such as bread, dairy, chocolate and coffee and assumed a veggie, fruit and water only diet. This routine is supposed to pull out all the built up toxins from our bodies and make us much healthier, but all I could think about was losing my precious morning cup of coffee and afternoon bite of chocolate.

Though I freely agreed to participate in this endeavor, I was QUITE grumpy the first week, lamenting the foods that I had LOST rather than embracing the health benefits and potential good habits that could come from this. I just focused on the loss rather than accepting a challenge and finding beauty in a new adventure with my husband.

Lent begins today, and I feel like many times in the past years since I became a follower of Christ, I have viewed Lent as a 40-day period where I have to give up something because it’s the Christian thing to do  – it’s a good thing, right? But inside I’m grumpy and doing it kicking and screaming and not really being committed. I have seen Lent as a time of loss, and because of that, I have not seen much change or transformation in my own life during the Easter season.

But I feel like I’m seeing Lent with new eyes this year… maybe all these veggies I’m eating recently is helping me think more clearly!

I’m starting to see Lent, or even fasting in general, as a time for growth, change and receiving rather than a time of loss. Sure, I may be setting an enjoyable habit, food or something else quite enmeshed in my life aside, but it’s not for more loss. It’s about cleaning out some distractions and unnecessary time eaters in my life so that Christ has room to mold and change my heart to look more like His, to reflect the hope and life He brought through His resurrection at Easter.

This Easter season, I’m looking forward to setting aside the Loss and embracing some time to see God move and mold and remake me, because I know I need it. And I hope you’ll join me.

I pray that you will take some time today to think about ways to bring glory to Christ during this season of Lent and to allow the Holy Spirit to move and work in you, showing you a new side to the Easter story this year.

Think about looking at these great resources that will help you reflect on making space for Christ to move in you and recognizing what He did through His death and resurrection.

Denison Forum on Truth and Culture daily devotions for Lent  (also the Texas Baptists Theologian in Residence)

What should you give up for Lent? By Jim Denison

Ideas for Lent by Rachel Held Evans

What is Lent? By Biblegateway.com

And think about shedding something these next days leading up to Easter to make time for reflection, remembering and thankfulness.

Be intentional and make room for the Holy Spirit. Let Him stir your heart, let Him show you Easter in a new way this year. Let Him give you boldness to share the hope of Easter with EVERYONE around you. I think if we all do this, we will be amazed at what we learn about ourselves and what we see Christ do in us.

Christ has done so much and He deserves some space from us, a lot of space from us. He has a lot of life He wants to show us if we do.

I know that God’s grace is there as stated in so many places in the Bible. One that stands out is Eph. 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

God’s love for us is demonstrated in His grace, that He sent His Son to us when we were disobedient and running from God, and His son freely laid down His life so that grace and salvation could be poured out on our lives, restoring our relationship with the Father.

Today I had a unique experience where I was reminded of this and how I often push away God’s grace.

It was a crazy morning. My husband and I taught Disciple Now last weekend at our church (which was a wonderful weekend and blessing!), but consequently, I have been quite exhausted this week from the lack of sleep during the weekend and from a lot of extra events happening this week

So today, everything caught up with me. I slept through my alarm, and when I awoke, I bolted out of bed, skipping my morning routine just to throw on some clothes and fix my hair so I looked presentable. I quickly grabbed all I need for the day in hopes of making it on time for a morning meeting I had.

I ran into the kitchen to throw something together for breakfast and lunch. My husband and I are on this 21-day healthy eating program where all we can consume are raw veggies, fruit, natural oils and herbs, making it where I have to prepare everything from scratch (and time consuming).

I hadn’t prepared any food for the day during the evening before since we arrived home late, so I scrambled to grab a few things that would suffice for food for the day.  In all of this hurry, I grabbed my laptop, lunch and keys, kissed my husband goodbye and out the door I flew.

The only problem was I ran out the door without my purse and cell phone. I didn’t notice my forgetfulness until I was 20 minutes down the road. There wasn’t time to go back to the apartment, so I continued on to work. I immediately becoming quite cautious with my driving, not wanting to do a thing wrong and get pulled over without my license with me.

With all of that, I made it to work on time and slid right into my meeting with flying colors. But the problem was still in the back of my mind – I’m without my purse, phone and wallet.

I called my husband from my office phone once I was out of my meeting and he said I did indeed forget my purse. When I called, he was quite busy finishing some paperwork for a mission trip that we are leading in about a month and then he was heading to work too. I knew he had a busy day ahead of him.

He gently offered to bring me my purse, even though it is a good 20 minutes drive from our apartment. I refused at first, feeling quite guilty that I had thrown a kink in both of our busy days. I didn’t want to cause problems or burdens for my busy husband, and I wanted to find a way to fix the problem myself.

My husband kindly offered again, saying he would love to help me. LOVE… something that touched me deep down.

When I hung up the phone, the Holy Spirit softly began speaking to my heart, digging into this guilt I felt about the situation.

“Kaitlin, you know how you wanted to solve the purse problem by yourself, how you didn’t want help? There are many other times in life when you act the same way. You refuse My love, My help, My grace. I’m right here. Come to me and let me help and walk with you.”

The truth sunk deep into my heart. I began to dwell on God’s grace, and I realized there are so many times in life when I try to sweep up the messes I make, only leaving more of a mess of emotions of guilt in the end. I forget about God’s grace. I forget that He came to pour forgiveness and life out in the midst of my mistakes, forgetfulness, disobedience and stupidity.

I’m so thankful for the reminder of God’s grace today, but I want you to hear the same truth. So often, when we make a mistake or disobey God, we feel so guilty that we move away from community and run from God, thinking we are a failure and need to fix the situation on our own.

But this is the exact thing we should not do. We should run into His arms filled with forgiveness and grace, admit we messed up and let God pour His renewing grace over us. If we run away, we are denying God’s sacrifice and saying that it means nothing to us.

So today, let this be a reminder that God has abundant grace and love for you. Just head towards Him and receive it.

During January, we’ve looked at what defines Millennials, what drives them, what motivates them and what they hope to do in the world.

Right now, more than half of the world’s population is under 25 and these youngsters are causing change. They are moving and shaking up things… just look in the Arab Spring that began in recent months and the many other political protests taking place around the world, one being the Occupy Movement taking place in our own country. Millennials want to see change and they are not waiting for others to enact it.

Will Millennials cause change in a way that will be for the better? It’s still too early to tell that, but many Millennials deeply believe it will be for the better.

One thing is true, though – Millennials deeply care about people, about relationships. We’ve talked in past blogs that the September 11 tragedy was witnessed by this generation during their formative years and it made a huge dent in the way they see life and value life. Millennials realized life is fragile, and therefore began to see that relationships trump a whole lot of passions and material things that end up as the focus in life.

As we move forward to another Opening Doors group, I hope that you will not stop learning, engaging, talking with, studying, praying for and befriending Millennials.

Yes, Millennials do things a little differently than other generations and function with a few different habits (mainly technological habits), but they desire to know people.

This is your chance to get to know them. The door is open to build friends, to start conversations and to ultimately infuse the gospel into these meaningful times together.

The gospel probably will not connect with Millennials through events, Christian TV shows, tracts, Sunday School, door-to-door evangelism and other traditional gospel-sharing methods (I say “probably” because God ultimately can use anything to draw people to Him). But trends have shown that overall, Millennials are disinterested in religion. So for the gospel to touch Millennials’ hearts, it more than likely is going to come from intentional, compassionate, transparent relationships that YOU build with them.

Though Millennials are ambitious and may seem extremely independent in their endeavors, they don’t want to disassociate with other generations, with people different from them. They want to get to know other generations, work together to find better ways to improve the world and see good results. They just may have a few new ideas and methods for doing it.

So may this be your challenge to pray for open doors with Millennials. Pray that God will give you opportunities to strike up a conversation with a 20-something just to learn more about their generation.

To keep learning about Millennials, check out a few of the resources that have we’ve connected with this month.

The Millennials by Thom and Jesse Rainer

Soul Searching:  The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers By Melinda Denton

iY Generation, Our Last Chance to Save Their Future  by Tim Elmore

Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next by the Pew Research Center

Texas Baptists Collegiate Ministry

A Challenge to Boomers and Builders from a Millennial-Loving Boomer

The Millennials Opening Doors project

Thanks for joining us this month on our Millennial journey. Now go get to know a Millennial!

Though an overwhelming number of Millennials who have grown up in the church leave it when they hit their college years – about 70 percent, there is a group of Texas Baptists Millennials who are doing just the opposite.

They are using their college days to grow a stronger walk with the Lord and to proclaim His love and salvation to their campuses, the nation and the world.

For the past several years, Go Now Missions, the college student missions-sending arm of Texas Baptists, has consistently sent at least 300 students each year to serve as missionaries through short-term, summer and semester mission projects.

In an interview held at the end of last year’s summer mission trips, Brenda Sanders, leader of Go Now Missions, said that Millennials are being change agents not only at their mission point but also when they return home to their college campuses.

“In the midst of these students’ faith journey as student missionaries, they see God do some amazing things,” she said. “They come away with more than a photo album full of pictures. They come away with a realistic picture of what it means to take the gospel to a hurting world. Ultimately, our goal is to teach them that missions is not a trip, but a way of life. We want them to walk away ready to be missionaries on their campus, jobs or homes. It may not be easy, but it is our calling as Christ-followers. And it is worth it,” Sanders said.

Joining these students are another 24 recent college grads who also are making college campuses their mission field as they serve as campus missionaries through Baptist Student Ministries. These vibrant Millennials are devoting a year to making disciples on the college campus.

And God is using these students, campus missionaries and Baptist Student Ministry staff to change lives. Weekly, the Baptist Student Ministry posts updates on the “Pause and Pray” blog, sharing stories about how God is using the 150 BSM staff members and campus missionaries as well as student leaders to spread the hope of Christ to more than 170 Texas college campuses.

In an article posted in December ‘11, David Griffin, BSM director at Sam Houston State University, said he is amazed at how God continues to use the student leaders and ministry of the BSM to share the gospel.

“This past month, one student who was once a professed atheist has now come to believe in Jesus Christ. This particular student has been attending our Wednesday lunch program for over a year and through that has made friends with quite a few students on the BSM leadership team. These leadership students have continually been intentional with him and have prayed for quite a while that he would eventually come to faith in Christ. And, in the past few weeks, he has now made that decision. Please join me in praying for this young believer’s new walk in Christ,” David wrote in his post.

God is doing amazing things in Texas Baptists Millennials and you can be part of it!

As Millennials live out their desire to make the world a better place, pray for them. Support them. Join them in their efforts. They desire to have relationships and partnerships with other generations. Also pray for the 70 percent of Millennials who have left the church; pray that the Lord would stir in their hearts and that they would return to walking with the Lord. Pray for the Baptist Students Ministries on 170 campuses around the state and that these groups will be able to connect many Millennials to the powerful message of Christ.

The Go Now Missions team is praying for 384 students to step forward this year and participate in short-term, summer or semester mission opportunities around the world. On Feb. 17-19, these potential Go Now student missionaries will walk through an interview weekend held at First Baptist Church in Midlothian to help them discover how the Lord wants them to serve this year. Go Now still is looking for prayer partners for the weekend so think about getting involved. Find more information on the Discovery Weekend 3-3-3 Prayer emphasis at the Go Now website.

Also, join the “Pause and Pray” email list so that you can get weekly updates delivered to your inbox about on how God is moving with Millennials and how you can get involved without his ministry. You also can visit Be On Mission, the new Texas Baptists missions finder tool, to see more stories written or filmed by Go Now students and BSM campus missionaries. God is moving through this generation and you can be part of the wonderful stories that are taking place.

These are Millennials, and they are your new co-workers. Since 2000, Millennials have been pouring into the marketplace and will continue to do so until about 2025. But they’re doing it in a completely different style than previous generations.

In a culture where the “American dream” is the ideal goal to achieve, Millennials are brining new goals and methods with them as they leave college and join the working ranks.

Millennials’ main focus is not on making money, although good, adequate compensation for their efforts is important to them. What trumps salary amount is working for companies that encourage a healthy balance between work and other parts of life. Family ties and other relationships are extremely important to Millennials and they don’t want jobs getting in the way of that.

Millennials will work hard and be dedicated to a job, but they don’t want the job to control their lives, which are centered on relationships. Many in previous generations have found their identity in their jobs, but Millennials desire to be defined by other avenues and want to have meaningful lives outside of their work.

Part of this is due to the 9-11 tragedy. The older part of the generation was about age 10 to 21 when the terror attacks happened. As they saw the towers fall, they were given a dose of reality, a dose of “life is short and people matter.” This has defied this generation, and now that Millennials are in the workforce, they want to be part of companies that make a difference in the world and ones that support the priorities of family and friends.

Because of that, Millennials are willing to stand up against the status quo that might be taking place in their workplace. They aren’t necessarily focused on protecting their jobs. They aren’t looking at staying at one company for the rest of their working days. They want to see progress within their companies and are willing to stand up for change or their priorities even when it might be difficult or cost them their jobs. They are ambitious and about making life count.

Flexibility in a job also is extremely important to Millennials. This plays into the importance they place on relationships. They want to be able to do a good job at work. And they love a challenge, but not at the sacrifice of family or friends.

When polled by Thom and Jess Rainer in The Millennials study, eight out of 10 Millennials said they desired a job with some level of a flexible schedule. This doesn’t mean the flexible hours have to come each week, but because relationships trump everything in their lives, Millennials want to work for a company that will periodically let them move their work hours around without being penalized. They aren’t asking for a hand out. They will work hard, but they desire flexibility.

Millennials also like to have a good time, whether that be with friends or in the workplace. Their work style is not of formality and soft-spoken conversations. Millennials have the mentality that “Life is too short to not have fun” (back to the 9-11 reasoning), and it falls within their work responsibilities too. Part of this is that Millennials know that fun times build relationships, and relationships are a life foundation for them.

But though they value a fun work atmosphere, they also value structure and good feedback from leadership and coworkers. Because Millennials are so relational and focused on keeping good family ties, they work well with other generations in the workplace and they desire to have positive, collaborative connections with these coworkers.

So what does this mean for the church? What does this mean for Christ followers?

Quite a bit.

As stated before, Millennials are all about authentic relationships. Many times, they want to be mentored by those who are ahead of them in life. Though they are ambitious, they want people to walk along with them, give them feedback, and take part in the journey with them.

For those who are not Millennials, knowing about their work traits and desires can help you encourage them and work with them well in your job setting. If you are in a church with them, it can help you utilize their talents and ambitions and help them find a great place to serve within the church.

Remember that Millennials want to change the world and that they are ambitious. They want to make the world a better place, so as a church, provide opportunities for Millennials to function well and serve well.

And it’s not just about connecting with Millennials at church. Less than one-fourth of Millennials are in church each week. So learning how to relate to a Millennial in the work place could make your office a wonderful mission field. Take advantage of the potential relationship placed before you each day.

If you are supervising a Millennial at your office or job right now, be a learner of Millennials. Ask them questions. Observe how they handle situations. Be willing to hear their suggestions on how to make your office a more creative, collaborative and fun place to work.

Rather than being frustrated that Millennials function in a different paradigm than many other generations, embrace their ambition and focus on relationships. Take the information shared here and let it bring some understanding about the generation.

And despite how tech savvy they are and electronically-connected Millennials are in their relationships, they value real, face-to-face relationships, even with those from other generations.

They are highly connected to their families. Millennials often initiate conversations with their family members, being the ones to text, call or Skype family wherever they may be in the world.  They want to be a connecting factor, bringing unity to the family.

Millennials also have global relationships. Since the beginning of this generation, the world has been at Millennials’ fingertips. Through sources like the Internet, 24-hour news coverage, Skype and chat rooms, their world has shrunk, and they are part of a global society. This generation has grown up with the Internet, and they use it to connect with the world.

They like to stay connected and have the technology to do so. They have personal computers, smart phones with the Internet at their fingers and other communication tools that previous generations had no thought about or access to. And they use these tools constantly to stay connect to the ones they love.

The desire to be connected to friends and family is shown even through the way Millennials respond to job positions and promotions. Thom Rainer, author of The Millennials, mentioned in his book that he spoke to a dozen Millennials at a meeting, giving them a job scenario and asking for their reaction.

The question: If you could choose between a 10 percent pay raise or two more days of vacation a year, what would you choose?

The answer: Unanimously – the extra vacation days.

The group wanted the time off from work to go visit friends and family.

Relationships play a part in everything Millennials do and are passionate about. So what does this mean?

To connect with Millennials, you must be willing to put the time, effort and transparency into building an authentic relationship with them. They desire to be connected to people, and authentic connection is the way deep, spiritual conversations can take place where the gospel can be shared.

Millennials don’t just want to know about your life. They want to live life with you. They want to be living in a community that is intimately woven into each other’s lives – seeing the good and the bad and helping each other move forward to change the world for the better.

They also now are in the market place, whether they be the new employee at your company or one your company uses for contract work (Millennials are quite independent and pioneering their own companies and positions). They are around you so reach out to them. Ask them about their families. Take them for a cup of coffee. Get to know them. And be willing to share your life with them. They want to be connected with people.

For the Millennials who are leaving the college scene and joining the working world, it can be lonely moving to a new city, starting a job and trying to find a community to live life with. Be aware of the Millennials around you and initiate conversations with them. Invite them into your world. They’ll eagerly accept.

Millennials also want to learn from other generations so think about mentoring Millennials. They desire to learn from the lessons, joys and experiences of those who have gone before them in this grown up journey. They are an innovative generation, a driven group, and they want to take what has been before and use it for even better pursuits and endeavors.

Be open to relationships with Millennials, and you’ll be amazed at what you will see happen when you do.

Information taken from The Millennials by Thom and Jess Rainer. 

The answer is probably not. Right now, the 20-somethings – the Millennial Generation (anyone born between 1980 and 2000) – are predominately not participating in church life.

For the Millennials who grew up in church and have already finished college, about 70-85 percent of them left the church when they reached the university, and the trend is staying consistent as more and more Millennials are reaching college age.  And they often don’t walk back into the church until they are married and having kids, if they return at all.

So what defines this generation?

Millennials have passed the Baby Boomers to be America’s largest generation, running 78 million strong.

They are talented, forward thinkers, driven, tech savvy, social-media connected, multi-tasking, passionate, non-religious people. They are not only flooding universities but they now are a major force in the job market.

They feel deeply broken over the injustice they see in the world and they are passionate about doing something to change the world.  They have a lot of creativity to do it and there is a good chance they might change the world for the better in their lifetime. And when looking at the way this generation functions and the priorities it holds, it is quite a contrast from other generations.

This generation is looking for authenticity and relationships, and unfortunately many Millennials will tell you they are not finding it in the church or through religion. Yes, they are passionate about making a difference in the world, but they are carrying out their desire to help outside of the church.

Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay Christian Resources, states that only 13 percent of Millennials who participated in a survey he conducted will tell you they are spiritual.  They are not “agnostic toward religion, especially Christianity, but rather agnostic toward all aspects of religion.”

Why?

Mostly because they do not see religion or the institutional church transforming lives.

They desire to see change, to see authentic relationships formed, ones that are deep, authentic and transparent and that span generational gaps.

During the remaining days of January, we will be looking at this unique generation and the distinct attributes Millennials carry.  I hope you’ll join us as we look at ways God is moving in the Millennial Generation and ways the gospel can connect to the hearts of Millennials outside the church.

In the mean time, I hope you will take some time to look at some great resources that will help you understand more about the Millennial Generation.

Relevant Magazine has a great article about Millennials –  “The Generation of Contrast – How 20- and 30- somethings are changing the shape of Christianity – for better or for worse,” and Thom Rainer also shares about Millennials on his blog. Both resources give great insight into aspects that drive Millennials and the characteristics that define them.

I love the New Year because it is the turning of the page. It is the starting of something new. It is the wiping of the slate and the hit of the reset button. I think it is God’s gift to us to remind of us of His grace, to remind us He is the Creator and orchestrator of second chances and restarts.

And He knows that I am one who needs many of these restarts and much of His grace.

I’ve never been really big on making a New Year’s resolutions list, but I will say that I am so thankful for the sigh of relief that does come with Jan. 1. It is acknowledging that I can, if needed, if desired, start a new, but only with Christ’s help.

In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul states that once we choose to step into the family of God, we are new creations IN CHRIST.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Cor. 5:17-19

So often, we see the coming of a new year as a way to tackle all our problems. We grab a self-help book with fives steps to a more robust and healthy life, make some resolutions and off we go to conquer our world.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this pursuit. We should pursue the to have balanced, healthy lives. But when it is done in our own power with our own goals, we will eventually fail.

I am the queen of this. I love planning and strategizing ways to improve my life, find balance or help others. I am a girl with a natural aim for perfection, and then off I go, often on my own whims and without stopping to see what God is up to and to first let Him work in me.

So I often fail. I may hold my own for a while, but eventually I become so overwhelmed with making life better for myself, that I become miserable and break and realize I should have partnered with God from the beginning.

When we become followers of Christ, Paul tells us that there is a change and renewal happening in us, not through our own efforts or strategy, but simply because Christ is now in us. We must remember that the King of creation is the one flaking off the old layers and bringing out the new, bringing the balance that He desires us to have.

This doesn’t mean that when I surrendered all of me to Christ several years ago, that all is perfect and exactly right with me now. Not at all.  I still wrestle with sin. I still get grumpy and snap at my husband at times. I still have days of being an inconsiderate friend.

What it now means is that I have a powerful Agent of Change working in my life if only I let Him. To be completely renewed where I look like Christ is a life-long process and one that won’t be fully completed until I am with Christ in heaven one day.

But all of this means I have a new identity that should cause major change in my life. Christ sees me as washed clean, made new and ready to serve Him. Once we realize we are new creations in Christ, we can become His ambassadors, taking this message to a world caught up in self-help cycles.

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor. 5:20-21

We live in a world where many have no clue they have the chance to become a new creation. They are caught up in New Year’s revolutions and self-help books, grasping at anything and everything that they think will fill the void, fill the longing for love and acceptance, assurance and forgiveness we all have.

They long for something more, a better version of themselves, and they will never get there without the True Creator bringing the change.

So as the New Year is settling in and you are contemplating changes to make in the coming months, remember that you are a New Creation through Christ and don’t try to make those changes on your own. Remember your identity and let Christ work in you.

Remember that you are equipped to do His ministry because He is here with you, guiding and helping you through His Spirit. And remember that so many others right near you need to know that they can be new creations too.

We all have special ways someone has encouraged us and helped us know we are not forgotten. This month, we have been talking about ways others have ministered to the Forgotten Ones, the elderly and homebound among us, helping them know they are valued and appreciated.

Before we finish up our focus the focus on the Forgotten Ones, we wanted to leave you with a few tips for taking a look at your world, connecting to the elderly and letting them know they are cared for, appreciated and loved by the Lord.

1. Become informed. Learn what life is like for the elderly in your community and their families. You can do this through personal experience like spending time with them and asking them questions about their life, or you can do a little research on your own. The following websites are a great place to start:

•  AARP
•  National Institute on Aging
•  Senior Journal
•  So Far Away (info on long-distance care giving)
•  Feeding America (facts on senior hunger)
•  Amy Hanson (a gerontologist and author)

2. Jump into ministry! You can’t begin to make a difference if you aren’t connected to people. If God is tugging on your heart to get involved with ministering to the elderly, then start right now. Start where you are at with something little or something big, but get involved! God can take your desire to help and use it in might, great ways!

If you need a starting place for interactions with the elderly, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services put out a great article sharing tips for interacting with elderly.

3. Be creative with your ministry. Take a look at the types of senior ministry going on in your community. You can find out much about ways to help the homebound and elderly through Meals on Wheels, home health agencies, church homebound lists, adult daycares or senior centers. Let these agencies know you are interested in ministering to the elderly and they can give you ideas for helping.

If you and your church need ideas for ministry, Texas Baptists can help. We have a senior adult ministry specialist, Keith Lowry, who is ready to help you start up a ministry to older adults in your community or to give you a few ideas to take the ministry you already have to the next level. Keith can be reached at keith.lowry@texasbaptists.org.

4. Give the elderly the value. The elderly and homebound have spent their entire lives to the point of being homebound helping others, leading their families and being productive members of society. Now that they are homebound, the desire to be helpful hasn’t stopped. They desire to have purpose and to contribute to society just like anyone else.

You can help with this. Join them once a week and be prayer warriors together. Take the church prayer list or the needs of a missionary you have adopted and go before the Father with the requests. But make sure you let them know how they are making a difference. As you learn of answered prayer requests, make sure that information gets back to them.

If the homebound are still able, do something together for someone else. This could mean backing cookies for someone in need, crocheting blankets for the local crisis pregnancy center or women’s shelter, adopting a service man or women and sending encouraging notes regularly. The ideas and ways to help are endless.

5. Don’t forget the caregivers. Though much of ministry to the elderly should be focused on the needs of the elderly and homebound, there is another group that is closely related and deserves love and attention too – the caregivers. Caregivers may be a spouse, children, grandchildren or nursing home/assisted living staff members.

They work very hard to take care of the needs of the elderly, and they need love and encouragement to continue on with the ways they are serving. Show them you care by giving them an afternoon off while you go sit with their homebound family member. Write them a note of encouragement. Drop by their home with a favorite coffee drink or sweet treat to let them know you are thinking about them. Ask them about the best way to encourage them and bring them help. Then be willing to do that very thing mentioned.

More than anything, the elderly and homebound just need to know they have a friend, that they have someone who will watch out for them and not take advantage of them.

Thanks for journeying with us this month as we’ve looked at ways to bless the elderly in our communities and share the hope of Christ with them in ways that will connect with their hearts. May God give you amble opportunity to put His love into action with the Forgotten Ones among you.

First Baptist Church in Richardson is helping remember the lives of senior adults through a ministry that allows elderly church members to record their life stories and key life moments so that they can leave their legacy for their families and future generations.

This is “an opportunity for our seniors and for their family to capture a brief overview of their life,” said Rebekah McDermott, volunteer coordinator of Legacy.

The program offers a free hour-long recording to senior adults in the church so that they have a living heritage to share with their families.

“It is so important to capture the video, the gestures, the voice, the person for future generations to see,” Rebekah said.

Each interested senior is given a video example of a Legacy recording and a packet of information, complete with a list of questions to help them think through the information they would like to share.

“The biggest obstacle we have is that they are feeling overwhelmed by how they should begin [the recording] and what they should say. They get excited about the project, but they get overwhelmed with what to say. For us, the biggest objective is helping them get past the obstacle of it being hard and unmanageable for them.” Rebekah said.

To do this, the  list of questions relate to experiences they may want to share, experiences like childhood memories, school days, dreams and aspirations, marriage and family, careers, Christian service and journey, spiritual development and other significant life moments.

The team hosts recording days from 1:30 to 3:30 each Tuesday afternoon during the school year. The team hosts the recordings in the church prayer room, giving the seniors a quiet familiar place to share their stories. More than 12 church members have stepped up to join the Legacy team, with three volunteers serve during each recording – an interviewer, a camera operator and a sound technician.

During the recording, seniors can show photos from their life, mementos or any significant items that help tell their story. The recording can be of an individual senior or a couple, depending on how the seniors would like to tell their stories.

If seniors are not able to come to the church due to being homebound, the Legacy team will take the recording equipment to the individual’s home or assisted living center. If a senior would like to be involved in the project, the team will make it happen, Rebekah said.

“If someone is in urgent need – one of our seniors is in a nursing home and homebound – we take the program to their home or wherever they are so that it is in their convenience and comfort. We try to make it easy for the seniors, very easy to get past ‘Oh, what am I going to say?’ and to help the seniors see how easy it us,” she said.

Since the program started three years ago, the team has recorded 22 seniors. Those who have participated in the recordings have been impressed with the finished product and are so thankful that they finished the Legacy project. Each senior is given one free DVD recording but can purchase additional copies, if desired.

“There was a senior couple that was so excited about doing this. She said, ‘Oh I wish we had something like this when my mom and dad and grandmother were a live.’ Three months after the recording, the husband was out one day and died of a heat attack. They were so thankful that they had made the recording,” Rebekah said.

As senior adults have taken part in this ministry, younger generations also are being challenged and encouraged as they  learn more about their parents and grandparents.

“Most of the people who have done this have shared why Jesus is so important in their lives. And when it is in the recording, their children see it in a different light and it makes an impact,“ Rebekah said.

Setting up a Legacy program takes some effort, but it is feasible for any church, Rebekah said. Because of this, Rebekah and the other team members have created a “how to” packet of information to help other churches begin a Legacy ministry and bless the senior adults in their community.

“We have great enthusiasm for this ministry and see this as a wonderful ministry,” she said.

To connect with Rebekah and to get information about starting Legacy in other churches, contact her at rebekahmcdermott@gmail.com.