Senior citizens continue to be a forgotten frontier in evangelism and local church outreach today. When I first wrote this guide in 1982, it was the product of starting seventeen senior citizens' outreach programs in local churches in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. The vision to see more churches see the value of reaching their senior citizens and providing a faith-based fellowship for them was our inspiration then and remains now that local churches see a vision for these special people. Sad to say, this is not the case.
Having a senior citizens program in the local church can be one of the least expensive and most meaningful outreach of the local church or community association. It requires space, little funding, a dedicated leader, and volunteers, and it can be one of the least costly programs that can be put on by the local church. It is easy to do and easy to manage. The need for a direct and specific program orientated toward seniors in the local church has never been greater than it is today. People are living longer. This is every growing field that truly is white unto harvest. With the changes in our society, increased life expectancy, increase in birth control, and now the wholesale slaughter of unwanted children (called abortion and sometimes birth killing), we are seeing the senior citizen population increasing.
