In 1953, a motion was made at the Georgia Baptist Convention meeting in Columbus for Georgia Baptists to consider a ministry to senior adults. That motion and subsequent study and events resulted in the creation of Baptist Village Retirement Communities in 1958 and Baptist Retirement Communities in 1967. Today, Georgia Baptists provide homes and health care for seniors from Lake Park, to Waycross, to Macon, to Atlanta.

This is a ministry of the heart. We do this because hearts changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ are hearts of compassion and love. The senior years for many are frightening years, but it does not have to be that way.

With Georgia Baptists putting arms of love and support around our seniors, we can provide the peace and comfort so much needed during these years of life.

The psalmist expressed the concerns of many in the senior years when he wrote in Psalm 71:9, “Do not discard me in my old age: as my strength fails, do not abandon me.” Then in verse 18 of the same chapter, the psalmist says, “Even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me.” The next words speak of the power of seniors to help successive generations: “Then will I proclaim Your power to [another] generation, Your strength to all who are to come.”

The cry of the psalmist to God did not fall upon deaf ears. We are here to minister in the name of God and, therefore, ministry to those in the graying years of life is not an option for us.

On July 17, you will have the opportunity to participate in the Senior Adult Ministries Day Offering. This special offering supplements what we are doing in Georgia for seniors through the Cooperative Program. The need is great.

The Administration on Aging, in a recent forum on aging and health care, demonstrated the need and reality. The report stated that “Most older people are healthier, wealthier, and better educated than previous generations, but these gains have not been equal among today’s older Americans.” Some are left behind. Likewise, the report stated some interesting facts:

• Older Americans are one of the fastest growing segments of our society.

• Americans are living longer than ever before. In 1900, the average 65-year-old could expect to live almost 12 more years and the average 85-year-old could expect to live an additional 4 years. By 2001, life expectancy at age 65 had increased to more than 19 years for women and about 16 years for men, and at age 85 it was 7 years for women and 6 years for men.

• Medicare pays for slightly more than half (54 percent) of the overall health care costs of its enrollees age 65 and over. This population pays 21 percent of their health care costs out-of-pocket.

• Medicaid covers 10 percent of costs, and other payers, primarily private insurers, cover another 15 percent.

• Medicaid covers the cost of 80 percent of nursing home residents in Georgia with cuts coming each year putting strains on those who provide care for seniors.

The need to give for the support of ministry among senior adults is real. 1 John 3:16-18 says, “This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but shuts off his compassion from him – how can God’s love reside in him? Little children, we must not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth.”