Directions Click here for map
From I-40 in West Knoxville, take Pellissippi Parkway (Exit 376, Hwy 162 N) north towards Oak Ridge. Go 3.7 miles to the Hardin Valley Road exit and turn left (going west) onto Hardin Valley Road. Travel 2.3 miles (passing Steele Road) and HVCOC will be on the right just past the Food City.Unknown: connect/forever_young
Forever Young is a new type of senior adult ministry. The focus is on keeping senior adults, who have retired or are looking to soon retire (~60+) and have more time available for volunteerism, involved in service to peers and as mentors to those who are younger and less experienced. Also, when older Christians are loved, valued, and used within the church community, it sets the stage for senior adult, peer, friendship evangelism. So one of the goals of this ministry is for older Christians to help build the body of Christ by their loving service to one another and by their reaching out to peers who are unchurched.
Members of the baby-boomer generation of seniors "are healthier, wealthier, better educated, more politically savvy, and more active than any other older generation in history. Also, most of them are more able than any other age group to do whatever they want to do. Most are free from the schedule of a job, from raising children, and from financial worries. They typically are freer to love others, to take risks, to be honest, and to serve." 1
The theme verse for the Forever Young Ministry is found in Psalm 92:12-15:
The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
We will be putting together a ministry team that will choose some initial facets for the ministry to implement. The facets will center around both peer-to-peer and inter-generational activities emphasizing 1) fellowship and assimilation of unchurched senior adults, 2) involving senior adults in meaningful ministry and service, and 3) facilitating the continued growth of senior adults in the areas of spiritual maturity and discipleship. All activities will have the goal of helping seniors shine the light and fulfill the mission of Christ by serving, not being served.
If you would like to be a part of organizing this ministry or help interface it with other ministries you are involved with, please let Tom Rucker know.
1 "How to Build A Positive Senior Adult Ministry," Kim Hughes, Ph.D., Productive Aging Resources, Dallas, TX, 2006.