Invite Baby Boomers to ‘come and see’

  |  Source: Texas Baptist Communications

Ron Edmondson, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky., discusses the value of reviving the church and Baby Boomer ministries. (Photo / Kirsten McKimmey)

image_pdfimage_print

DALLAS—Whether the goal is reaching Millennials or Baby Boomers for Christ, the invitation remains the same, a Dallas mega-church pastor told a national conference.

“Reaching 50-year-olds is the same thing that reaches 24-year-olds—invite them to come and see. If you personally know the king, then compel them to come in,” Todd Wagner, senior pastor at Watermark Church in Dallas, told the National Boomer Ministry Conference.

“The mark that is going to reach all people of every generation is love,” Wagner said. “Without love, nothing matters.”

Provide tools for ministry to Boomers

Church leaders and volunteers from 58 congregations and organizations learned skills and techniques to engage the Baby Boomer generation—people born between 1946 and 1964—in ministry at the fifth annual National Boomer Ministry Conference, Sept. 6-8 at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.

Sponsored by Texas Baptists’ Great Commission Team, the conference was designed to equip ministers and volunteers who work with Boomer ministries by providing resources, tools, encouragement and ideas, organizers said.

Keith Lowry, adult discipleship specialist with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, noted 76 million Baby Boomers have been turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day since 2011—a trend that will continue until 2029.

“Aging Boomers are completely different than the generations which came before,” Lowry said. “We started this conference to help churches become aware of how they will need to make changes to their legacy senior adult ministries if they are going to be effective at reaching and ministering to these Baby Boomers.”

Reach every generation for Christ

Author Amy Hanson leads a breakout session at the National Boomer Conference on how to build a Boomer ministry from scratch. (Photo / Kirsten McKimmey)

Conference participants heard from five keynote speakers—Wagner; humorist Dennis Swanberg; Amy Hanson, speaker, writer and consultant; Steve Stroope, senior pastor of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall; and Ron Edmondson, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky.

By helping Christians understand what is true and what is false about the Boomer generation, Hanson explained how to build a Baby Boomer ministry from scratch and effectively carry it out.


Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays


Stroope focused on reaching every generation for Christ by obediently implementing strategic church essentials and providing excellent worship, small groups and life-stage ministries.

“Everyone has a tendency to emphasize evangelism or discipleship,” Stroope said. “But the Great Commission calls us to both.”

Edmonson offered similar sentiments as he discussed his experiences in reviving churches and their Baby Boomer ministries.

“You have to lead the church to think outside its walls and back into the community,” he said. “The way we do church today would have never worked 50 years ago.”

Edmonson implored churches to be careful not to neglect the past while building for the future and rediscovering effective ministry.

Participants also had the chance to attend breakout sessions on topics including “Parents of Prodigals,” “Dementia: The Elephant in our Sanctuaries” and “Help Me Help My Aging Parents.”

The conference drew international participants from Canada and Australia, as well as individuals from 14 states other than Texas.

The 2018 National Boomer Ministry Conference will be held Sept. 5-7 at First Baptist Church in San Antonio. Click here for more information on ministry to Boomers.

 


We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.

Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.

More from Baptist Standard