In the fall of 2000, the Discipleship Ministries Unit of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church established the Center on Aging & Older Adult Ministries. This action was taken as a result of:

• An intentional effort to support the growing needs of an increasingly "graying" church and society;

• A request by the United Methodist Committee on Older Adult Ministries calling for the General Board of Discipleship to have a full time director of older adult ministries; and,

• A mandate from General Conference in May 2000 creating a Comprehensive Plan for Older Adult Ministries.

Leadership for the Center is provided by Richard H. Gentzler, Jr., D.Min., Director, and Teri Kline, Assistant to the Director.

Center Vision
The vision of the Center on Aging & Older Adult Ministries is founded on the principle that ongoing faith development of midlife and older adults is critical for the transformation of the world. Therefore, the Vision of the Center is:

A church environment where the wisdom, skills, experience, and faith which often abound in midlife and older adults are being intentionally developed and fully utilized.

Center Mission
In order to achieve this vision, the Center on Aging & Older Adult Ministries commits to the following Mission Statement:

The Center on Aging & Older Adult Ministries will provide quality resources and valuable training support to help equip leaders (both clergy and laity) in their ministry of faith development with midlife and older adults.