When Your Group Has Senior Citizens

Fri 03,2025 | By admin

At first our group didn’t know about Sarah’s hearing loss, but it didn’t take long for us to notice her phone buzzing and delivering feedback as it magnified sound for her hearing aids. Since then I have noticed that Sarah often sits forward in her chair to hear better, especially when one of the men in our group talks because his voice is soft.

Sarah’s loss of hearing is the main reason she does not attend church these days. There’s just too much background noise when people greet her, and she is embarrassed and doesn’t want to appear rude when she doesn’t hear.

But Sarah spent her adult years in a spiritual desert and now she is anxious to make up for that. Her desire to grow spiritually in our Bible discussion group is palpable!

Sarah and her husband didn’t attend church while they were raising their family because they were caught up in their kids’ many activities. However, a few years ago they realized what they were missing all those years and have welcomed the chance to be in our discussion group for people who are new to the Bible.

Global aging is a defining phenomenon of the 21^st century! The good news is that research indicates seniors value spirituality more as they age. Therefore, this rapidly growing aging demographic provides a great opportunity to engage older adults with the message of the gospel in small group discussions. But this will occur only if seniors can physically see, hear, and understand what is happening!

Participants in any group vary greatly in terms of their background, abilities, and especially Bible knowledge. How can facilitators of group Bible discussions ensure senior adults can be fully functioning participants? Here are ways to overcome some of the challenges seniors experience:

Keep the group size from getting too large. Six to eight people max. When you have more than that, get another group started! The resource “Multiplying When No One Wants to Divide” can help you. (Click the link to access the PDF of this resource.)
Be sure everyone can hear each other. Meet in a location where you can reduce external noise and eliminate distractions.
Meet around a small table (with room for wheelchairs, if necessary) so that everyone is in close proximity and can easily lay out a Bible and a discussion guide.
Make Scripture available in large print and/or in audio format. Be sure those who need large print Bibles have access to them or can access Scripture on a computer tablet and know how to enlarge the text on their screen. An app like YouVersion also provides audio access.
Consider dividing Q Place Bible study guide discussions in half to avoid challenging mental and physical stamina. Or use Q Place’s Bible Discussion Pages, which have shorter passages and fewer questions. Bible Conversation Cards are an even simpler format with five basic questions to discuss and six weeks of Scripture passages on one topic. Q Place offers instructions for printing most of our discussion guide PDFs in large print format.
Understand that some may not write in their study guides beforehand for various reasons. Encourage participants to read or listen to the Scripture several times and think about the questions on their own. For those who want to write in the guide and can’t, ask if someone could meet with them ahead of the discussion and help them.
Slow down. Allow time for processing and expression.
Record prayer requests (there are many!) and distribute requests to the group.
Stay in touch frequently with notes, cards and treats. Plan to get together outside of the group to talk about all the tangents that are sure to come up!

Trend watchers for evangelism have long noted a “4-14 age group window” of opportunity, in which children are more responsive to the gospel.

However, many people trust Christ in their older years. Studies show increasing longevity worldwide. The looming shadow of mortality, combined with the evangelistic potency of Christian love and care, may create something like a “70-100 Window,” where aging adults are also more open to the gospel!

Helping the “Sarahs” around us come to know Jesus and grow as his disciples while there is still time is truly vital and fulfilling!

– Fran Goodrich, Q Place National Field Leader