According to the United Nations, a society is considered "aging" when the population aged 65 and above constitutes more than 7% of the total population, and it is deemed "aged" when it surpasses 14%.
In City M, there is a church with over 60 members, and the average age is approximately 64.4 years old. This indicates that the proportion of members aged 65 and above exceeds 14% of the total congregation. Some churches not only have an aging congregation but also aging pastors and workers. The challenges in rural churches are even more pronounced, with some churches lacking even enough personnel to preach at the altar.
In another church in the same city, apart from two pastors born in the 1990s, most of the serving workers, especially members of the choir, are in their seventies and eighties.
As a result, some pastors are dedicated to finding young people and exploring how to attract more youth to the church and better serve and retain them, but the results are not very optimistic. On the other hand, some pastors believe that while young people can indeed bring strength to the church, it's worth considering whether every church should focus on attracting young people at present. For rural churches, which already have few young members, it is not worthwhile to divert a significant amount of effort towards them at the expense of the pastoral care and evangelism of elderly believers. "The situation of the elderly is more urgent, as they need the gospel the most," said one pastor. Caring for those who remain in the church was a God-given mission, and many elderly people who hadn't yet received the gospel were in greater need of it, he added.
In response, some churches are transitioning to focus on the elderly. As mentioned earlier, the church in City M has a relatively small congregation, whose average age is over 60. The leader of the church is Pastor Y, who is relatively young and used to be concerned about the aging state of the church. He tried hard to nurture young people in the church, but the results were not ideal, and he had experienced moments of despair regarding the church's development.
Pastor Y is also a teacher at a training center who frequently travels to diverse places to learn. He attempts to promote the care of the elderly in the church. For example, during the regular Wednesday and Friday worship services, he adds more interactive elements for the elderly, sharing sermons while also listening more to the voices of the elderly. In terms of ministry, they increased visits to the elderly, organized health seminars, and introduced various preventative programs for common health issues.
Recently, they have also planned to launch a theme study on "How to Age Gracefully." This aims to liberate the elderly from their traditional lifestyles and replace them with new ones. Y mentioned that in their hometown, people in their eighties are still in good health and can help their children with household chores and caring work for their grandchildren. However, this often leaves little time for gatherings. There is a female believer in the church who is in her seventies and has been volunteering at the church for decades. She has been helping her children with household chores and taking care of her grandchildren since her fifties, so she is too busy to attend Sunday worship.
"Being this busy is not quite normal," Y remarked. He visited the elderly Christian and found out that it was not her children who could not do without her assistance; it was the elderly person who could not let go of her responsibilities. Y mentioned that often, it was not that the children truly needed their elderly parents' help. It was just that the parents had grown accustomed to this lifestyle, as helping their children with chores might be the only thing they felt they could do, and that made them still feel needed. Gradually, the children accepted their parents as "servants" and their help, but the elderly individuals were not happy doing it, Y continued.
"Elders should learn to let go of many things." When focusing on the elderly, Y found that many of them did not have a life of their own; their sense of purpose in life revolved around their children. Therefore, he counseled the aged female believer, saying that elderly people should learn to let go of responsibilities that do not belong to them and live a more fulfilling life.
The theme study on "How to Age Gracefully" offered by the church is specifically for elderly volunteers aged 70 and above who still have the energy to serve. It aims to break them out of traditional lifestyle patterns and lead them to live a healthy, quality life centered around God's service. "Now this senior Christian woman comes to the church to serve every day and is especially joyful," Y said.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
根据联合国对老龄化的定义标准，65岁及以上人口占总人口比例超过7%即为老龄化社会，超过14%即为高龄化社会。
M市一间教会，有60余位信徒，平均年龄在64.4岁，可见65岁及以上信徒已经足足超过教会总信徒的14%了。有的教会不仅信徒老龄化，牧者同工也已进入了老龄。乡村教会的处境就更为凸显，有的教会连讲台服侍同工也没有。
同在M市的另一间教会，除了两位传道是90后，其余服侍同工，特别是诗班成员基本上都是七八十岁了。
因此有教会牧者致力于寻找年轻人，探索如何吸引更多年轻人进入教会，怎样更好地牧养且留住年轻人，但其果效也不乐观。而另有牧者认为，年轻人确实会给教会带来力量；但当下是否每间教会都要将重点放在吸引年轻人身上，就有待考量了。拿乡村教会来说，本就没有什么年轻人，如果将大量精力放在其上，从而忽视了老年信徒的牧养和福传，是得不偿失的。“老年人的情况多急迫呀，他们最需要福音。”这位牧师说，牧养是针对留下来的人，做好这群人的牧养，就是上帝给的使命；还有很多未得之长者，是更加需要福音的。
对此，有教会开始转型，做长者牧养。上文提到M市这间教会，人数不多，平均年龄都在六十多岁。这间教会负责人是正直壮年的Y传道。他也曾为教会“老龄化”现状苦恼过，想努力培养年轻人，建立年轻人，但现实果效并不理想，因此也曾陷入过对教会发展的绝望中。
Y传道是一培训中心的老师，经常去各地学习。他在教会尝试、推进老年人的牧养。比如，常规的周三、周五礼拜，会加入更多老人互动环节，分享教导话语的同时，也更多聆听老年人的心声。事工上，加强了对长者的探访，增设了针对长者的健康讲座，和一些预防基础疾病小活动。
近期他们也计划开展“如何优雅步入老年”的主题学习。解放传统老年人的生活模式，用新生活代替旧生活。Y 传道说，他们家乡那儿老人八十多岁了身体都还健硕，可以帮助儿女操持家务，照看娃孙。但这样一来，能聚会的时间常常也就不多了。教会有一位70多岁的老姊妹，几十年在教会做义工。她从50多岁就帮助做生意的孩子操持家务，带孙子，忙到主日都没有时间来礼拜。
“忙到这样不太正常，”Y传道说。他带着同工去看望了老姊妹与其交流得知，并非是儿女离不开老妈的帮助，是老人家自己放不下。Y传道说，其实很多时候并不是孩子们真的需要年长父母的帮助。而是父母习惯了这种生活模式，帮助儿女干活可能是她们唯一能做的事情，且能感受自己还被需要。子女慢慢也就默认了父母是“佣人”，自然接受了父母的帮助，但老人家做着也并不开心。
“长者应该要学会放下好多事情。”当专注在长者身上时，Y传道发现，很多长者没有自己的生活，生活的意义好像只是围着儿女转。因此他开导老姊妹，老年人应该学会放下不属于自己的责任，过有质量的生活。
而教会开设的“如何优雅步入老年”这一主题学习，就是针对70岁以上、还有余力服侍的老年义工开办的。旨在将老人带出传统生活模式，过健康有质量、以神为中心的侍奉的生活。“现在这位老姊妹每天来教会侍奉，特别喜乐，”Y传道说。
案例学习：进入“高龄化”的教会，牧养好老年信徒
According to the United Nations, a society is considered "aging" when the population aged 65 and above constitutes more than 7% of the total population, and it is deemed "aged" when it surpasses 14%.
In City M, there is a church with over 60 members, and the average age is approximately 64.4 years old. This indicates that the proportion of members aged 65 and above exceeds 14% of the total congregation. Some churches not only have an aging congregation but also aging pastors and workers. The challenges in rural churches are even more pronounced, with some churches lacking even enough personnel to preach at the altar.
In another church in the same city, apart from two pastors born in the 1990s, most of the serving workers, especially members of the choir, are in their seventies and eighties.
As a result, some pastors are dedicated to finding young people and exploring how to attract more youth to the church and better serve and retain them, but the results are not very optimistic. On the other hand, some pastors believe that while young people can indeed bring strength to the church, it's worth considering whether every church should focus on attracting young people at present. For rural churches, which already have few young members, it is not worthwhile to divert a significant amount of effort towards them at the expense of the pastoral care and evangelism of elderly believers. "The situation of the elderly is more urgent, as they need the gospel the most," said one pastor. Caring for those who remain in the church was a God-given mission, and many elderly people who hadn't yet received the gospel were in greater need of it, he added.
In response, some churches are transitioning to focus on the elderly. As mentioned earlier, the church in City M has a relatively small congregation, whose average age is over 60. The leader of the church is Pastor Y, who is relatively young and used to be concerned about the aging state of the church. He tried hard to nurture young people in the church, but the results were not ideal, and he had experienced moments of despair regarding the church's development.
Pastor Y is also a teacher at a training center who frequently travels to diverse places to learn. He attempts to promote the care of the elderly in the church. For example, during the regular Wednesday and Friday worship services, he adds more interactive elements for the elderly, sharing sermons while also listening more to the voices of the elderly. In terms of ministry, they increased visits to the elderly, organized health seminars, and introduced various preventative programs for common health issues.
Recently, they have also planned to launch a theme study on "How to Age Gracefully." This aims to liberate the elderly from their traditional lifestyles and replace them with new ones. Y mentioned that in their hometown, people in their eighties are still in good health and can help their children with household chores and caring work for their grandchildren. However, this often leaves little time for gatherings. There is a female believer in the church who is in her seventies and has been volunteering at the church for decades. She has been helping her children with household chores and taking care of her grandchildren since her fifties, so she is too busy to attend Sunday worship.
"Being this busy is not quite normal," Y remarked. He visited the elderly Christian and found out that it was not her children who could not do without her assistance; it was the elderly person who could not let go of her responsibilities. Y mentioned that often, it was not that the children truly needed their elderly parents' help. It was just that the parents had grown accustomed to this lifestyle, as helping their children with chores might be the only thing they felt they could do, and that made them still feel needed. Gradually, the children accepted their parents as "servants" and their help, but the elderly individuals were not happy doing it, Y continued.
"Elders should learn to let go of many things." When focusing on the elderly, Y found that many of them did not have a life of their own; their sense of purpose in life revolved around their children. Therefore, he counseled the aged female believer, saying that elderly people should learn to let go of responsibilities that do not belong to them and live a more fulfilling life.
The theme study on "How to Age Gracefully" offered by the church is specifically for elderly volunteers aged 70 and above who still have the energy to serve. It aims to break them out of traditional lifestyle patterns and lead them to live a healthy, quality life centered around God's service. "Now this senior Christian woman comes to the church to serve every day and is especially joyful," Y said.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Case Study: Focus on Pastoring the Elderly in 'Aging' Church
