The General Council of the Assemblies of God has named May as Senior Adult Month.  It may be observed on a single recognition Sunday, over a weekend, or by a series of events throughout the month.  Make it a time of tribute, celebration and appreciation.  Dwell on the positive aspects of aging.  Designate a committee to plan the event(s) using as manysenior adults as possible.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

• Advertise the fact that May is Senior Adult month by printing it in your bulletin.
• Advertise by displaying a banner inside, outside or both.
• Recognize the senior adults in your church and community for their contributions to God’s work.
• Say thank you to senior adults who are faithful in attendance and participation, honoring them with gifts and verbal praise.
• Praise the Lord for individual contributions of senior adults in the past and present.
• Pray for the senior adults in your church and community, specifically mentioning their needs.
• Express appreciation for the wisdom and experience the senior adults bring to your congregation.
• Make other age groups cognizant of the blessings that senior adults can be to all
• Make May the month to serve seniors in your church by helping them with errands, housecleaning or yard work.

If you choose a particular Sunday in May to feature and honor the senior adults:

• Choose several seniors to usher and be active greeters
• Recruit one of your seniors to pray in the service
• If you have a retired minister in your congregation have him/her preach
• Use senior adults for the special music
• Ask several seniors to share their testimonies

Honor specific seniors by giving public recognition for being the oldest, longest church member, senior couple that has been married the longest, senior adult with the most children /grandchildren, etc.

Have another group in your church honor the seniors with a special lunch or banquet.

Make May the “Serve our Seniors” month and have others in your church do yard work or cleaning for the seniors.

Arrange for your seniors to be adopted for the month, by a younger single or family in your church to provide transportation, meals, and other services as special treatment.

If you have a very active Senior Adult group recognize them for their servanthood and let them provide and lunch and entertainment for the rest of the church.  Often, younger people need to recognize what our seniors possess in wisdom, faith and service abilities.

Community Outreach

Senior Adult Month can become a wonderful evangelism tool, by planning a special day to invite senior adults from your community to a meal and/or service designed for them.  Use other groups in your church to plan the event and pass out flyers to homes and individuals inviting them to their special day. 

• Plan a program or service using favorite hymns such as:  “The Solid Rock”, “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”, “The Old Rugged Cross”, and “Amazing Grace”. 
• Have your pastor or a senior bring a message about the “Seasons of Life” or “The Journey”
• Arrange for transportation for seniors, both from your church and especially the community.
• Provide a small inexpensive gift for every senior adult in this service or every Sunday in May.

Contact our office at jfranck@ag.org if you would like a bunch of PrimeLine newsletter past issues to include in a packet or to hand out singly to senior adults during the month of May.

Look at our Bookshelf for resource information about senior adults: Bookshelf