Greetings, dear fellow Christians and friends of Christian Concourse. We thank you for your friendship and your vital support in prayer for this mission for Christ – aiding efforts in Christian nursing home ministry with free resources, materials, and information. Also, please know that we do not take for granted the financial support you share with us as you are able and led by our Lord. We are grateful for each one of you! May you be blessed in Jesus Christ’s name!
In September of this year, just two months away, there will be a gathering of thousands of interdenominational Christians in Inchon, South Korea. Over the past several decades, this congress has convened several times to move forward the efforts of Christians to advance the world-wide mission of the Body of Christ. This assembly this year is called, The Fourth Lausanne Congress (Sept. 22-28, 2024). The motto of this conference has been adopted as, “Let the Church Declare and Display Christ Together.” See their website for more information: https://congress.lausanne.org/ .
One of the areas this historic gathering will be focused on are 25 “gaps” that have been identified as specific areas of evangelism and ministry that the Church is slack in. The first of these “gaps” is the global aging population. They are looking for answers to the question, “How might Christians of all generations collaborate to reach, disciple, and mobilize the global aging population to trust the Gospel and fruitfully follow Christ in the whole of life to the very end?”
Those over 60 years old make up the fastest growing segment of world population. They will account for over 2.1 billion people by 2050. That will be a larger number than all the children under 12. This has never happened before in history! The implications of this demographic reality has significant social, economic and religious implications. The organizers of this segment of the Congress have observed that the least effective effort of the Church is discipling the older population! These facts are illuminated in a short video on their website which you can watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRDvxcnAS_E ..
Among the elderly, some are waiting to be mobilized.
Some are vulnerable and in need of spiritual encouragement and strength.
Some have never met our Savior!
Imagine the impact that mobilized, energized, praying aging saints can have on intercession, evangelism, and Church leadership in their communities and around the world. We do well when we recognize elder Christians as a Godly resource of prayer, witness and wise counsel! Imagine our global aging population mobilized by the Spirit of Love to participate in a mighty, international, interdenominational, inter-generational army of prayer warriors for our Lord Jesus. Imagine the victorious, joyous entry into heaven of those elderly lost souls who are snatched out of the Enemy’s grip by the intentional, collaborative, concerted missional ministry of the world-wide Body of Christ!
We invite you to pray with us for this Congress in September. Do some research on your own. Ask God to lead you if you feel stirred by the needs in our world that this gathering is seeking to address. We close this letter with a quote from Leviticus 19:32:
“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. (ESV)
Love in Christ,
Jerry and Dar Johnson