Q: HOW will ALOA attack the challenge?
A: ALOA will address these critical needs by targeting congregations as the key location for ministry.
Q: WHAT will ALOA do to support congregations?
A: ALOA has a 5-part strategy:
- ALOA will use existing District and Synod structure to gain access to congregations, supporting the District and Synod as well as the local congregation
Celebrate, Equip, Serve are key elements, central in our logo, and useful for evaluating the ministry efforts you plan.
- Celebrate: We celebrate who older adults are as contributing important members of congregations and members of the world. Older adults are encouraged to have a vibrant spiritual life in the later years.
- Equip: Older adults equip themselves for the new stages of life as they unfold, and the church equips itself to meet the important challenges with this growing population.
- Serve: Older adults are not passive but are seen as vital members of congregations and acting on the world. They are also served as they face the struggles of life unique to their stage of life.
- Affirm Discipleship
There is no retirement from discipleship. ALOA encourages congregations to celebrate additional life passages that affirm the new discipleship roles. - ALOA will focus on Five “Ministry Areas” of:
- Intergenerational
- Health and Wellness
- Independence to Dependence/Interdependence
- CareSharing
- End of Life
These are ministry areas that are broadly felt and provide opportunity for engagement with members of the congregation, but also with people in the community who are unconnected to the church.
- ALOA will tie specific resources to each of the 5 ministry areas, providing immediate help for congregational programming.
Expand the Congregational Help tab on the far left of this page for more on each of these ministry areas (click on the down arrow) and explore the Blueprint and the Ministry areas.