On September 15, PCA Discipleship Ministries (CDM) will partner with Covenant Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga to host a conference on equipping churches to minister to older adults. Titled “Legacy,” the conference’s theme is “Serving God’s Purpose in Every Generation.”

Cami Summers of CDM said that many church leaders have told the CDM team that churches need resources for senior care ministry. The Legacy Conference will connect church leaders with some resources to help them meet the unique needs and opportunities that come with caring for aging members of the church.

The conference will feature sessions with experts from a variety of fields like Bill Davis, author of “Departing in Peace: Biblical Decision-Making at the End of Life”; medical experts like Dr. Kellie Flood; older adults consultants like Jeff Bird and Jake Bennett; Alex Patterson of Presbyterian Homes of Georgia; and pastors like Doug Merkey and Joe Novenson.

Presenters will cover practical issues surrounding caring for aging populations like palliative care and hospice as well as ministry concerns like creating gospel-centered ministries to senior adults and developing a covenantal approach to older adult ministry. There will also be a session on caring for caregivers and their unique needs. 

Summers said older adults often face special challenges – limited income, deteriorating health, loneliness, and the grief from losing friends and family. “The needs of this specific community are different than other populations, and we want to equip people to better minister to these needs,” she said. 

Summers hopes that churches will embrace older adult ministry as a key church ministry – just like ministry to children and families. 

For more information and to register, visit https://pcacdm.org/legacy-conference/.