I recently preached a sermon from 2 Timothy 4:6 titled, Finish Well where the Apostle Paul at the end of his life stated, ” I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Stating the words of that verse with integrity is the goal for every believing person.
Someone asked me how long I spent on the preparation of that sermon. I think I perceived that they were in a complimentary mood, not critical. “Seventeen years!” I said. I have been thinking about this subject and putting my efforts into leading older adults toward finding a God-honoring balance in their life since I began my ministry in Spirit Lake, Iowa in 2002. Having a larger than normal percentage of age 50+ in that congregation, I saw a new challenge emerge in my ministry, helping older adults to finish well.
The Encore Generation Team
I immediately began looking for help as I formulated a strategy for ministry to older adults in my Spirit Lake church and one of the first people I was directed to was Dr. Amy Hanson. I describe her as a perky, young, and extremely gifted gerontologist. She wrote the book, Baby Boomers and Beyond and she is an excellent speaker and devoted Christian. Amy and I have continued to connect at a professional level as well as becoming friends in the process. Now we are partnering in a new venture called Encore Generation and we are happy to announce that we have launched what we call Encore Table. The third person of our team is Pastor Sam Benson who serves with me at Live Oaks Community Church as my Executive Pastor. Sam brings 52 years of pastoral ministry and leadership experience and along the way he has pioneered several innovative ministries that also served the church and pastors. He understands pastors and church dynamics! Sam and Amy and I form a dynamic team! Thank you God for bringing us together.
How We Can Help
The Encore Generation ministry is dedicated to assisting and supporting church leaders in how to best connect with Boomers and beyond and then unleash them in a meaningful and productive way for greater Kingdom work. We want to work with pastors and church leaders that are looking for ways to reach the age 50+ group in their church and community so we have created a two day face to face experience where Sam and Amy and I lead a round table discussion; we call Encore Table. We can host up to five churches with up to three representatives from each church. We guide the churches toward creating a strategy to be put in place back home and then we offer three follow-up coaching calls to help them keep moving toward the accomplishment of their goals.
Encore Table
We held our first two day Encore Table in early May and it was a tremendous first experience. Our idea worked! Churches from San Antonio, TX, Knoxville, TN, a northern Chicago suburb and a church from the southern suburbs of Kansas City sent leaders and each of them made great strides toward the end result reaching and unleashing the older adults in their congregations. We hold Encore Table at our church (Live Oaks Community Church) in The Villages, Florida. Our church has spent the last eight years refining ideas and we are happy to share what we are learning. We meet on Tuesday and Wednesday so we are able to invite Encore Table participants to observe our Filler Factory which engages between 50 and 100 people every week as they create items that go into Operation Christmas Child boxes. We are also able to showcase The Villages which is “Exhibit A” on what active older adults are looking for in their “Encore” of life.
Join Us!
We have three more Encore Tables scheduled for this Fall and Winter. They are on the following dates: Oct 8-9, Jan 21-22, and Mar 24-25. There is a fee for attending but it is the same fee whether a church sends one individual or three. We encourage them to send more than one. They can get more information by contacting me at chrisholck@me.com.
I believe that the time is right for Encore Table. Leaders don’t want another lecture or conference with another three ring binder full of notes that will sit on the shelf. They need a strategy worked out in a collaborative setting and guided by people with expertise and vision. They also need to “sustain the drive” if you will allow a football metaphor so by offering three follow-up coaching calls, they are more likely to take the strategy from paper to people.
I am thrilled to finally get to this launch point of a ministry that I think will grow churches and the Kingdom. Please pray for this new ministry and if you would like your church to participate, either you or one of your key leaders can contact me.