Senior Adults
"Even to your old age I am He, even when you turn gray I will carry you." Isaiah 46:4
First Baptist Church offers senior adults many and varied opportunities to be nurtured and to nurture others through active participation in worship, music, Christian education, missions, and special ministries. Senior adults share their wisdom and experience by serving on committees and ministry teams, being worship leaders, advising and supporting the ministers and other church staff, and contributing to mission projects locally and in other communities.
Worship each week seeks to praise Holy God and celebrate the Lord's love. Worship extends an invitation to respond to the good news of Christ's salvation and to enter into a life of discipleship. It is to comfort, encourage, challenge, and inspire God's people to ministry in Christ's name. The service is intentionally structured to involve the congregation in experiential, dynamic worship. Members are encouraged to use their gifts and talents to enrich the worship experience.
Senior adults have opportunities to share their musical gifts through participation in the adult choir, the handbell group, and as instrumentalists. Senior adults especially appreciate the respect for tradition, clear order, and reverent atmosphere of First Baptist Church worship services.
First Baptist offers a variety of senior adult Sunday School classes from which to choose. While all classes focus on nurturing a growing faith in participants, educating believers in Christian discipleship, and encouraging a deeper spirituality, teachers use an array of creative teaching materials and interactive discussions to promote participation and learning. Christian education is further strengthened for senior adults through their participation in Center for Spiritual Formation courses, Wednesday night Bible study, and other specially designed training events.
First Baptist seeks to actively engage senior adults in missions and special ministries to others. Some energetic senior adults lead children's Sunday School, mission and discipleship training, and Vacation Bible School each summer. Senior adults share their gift of teaching by leading adult Sunday School classes and Center for Spiritual Formation courses. Senior adults participate in Women and Men United in Missions , the church's mission organization, in Deacon-led Ministry Teams, in the Scouting program, in caregiving activities for each other, and in assisting with church food service events. Individual senior adults and groups provide leadership and manpower for numerous local community ministries such as Habitat for Humanity, Burke United Christian Ministries, and the Good Samaritan Clinic.