GBOD | Ministries-Mid-Life Adults

After the Example of Christ: Congregational Care Model (free brochure)

And Not One Bird Stopped Singing: Coping with Transition and Loss in Aging
By Doris Moreland Jones (Upper Room Books)
This book provides a unique source of healing; and it helps us cope honestly with our feelings of loss in death, in diminishing body function, and in other experiences related to aging.

Breaking & Mending: Divorce and God's Grace
by Mary Lou Redding. Upper Room Books.
In struggling to make sense of her own painful divorce, Redding looked to the Bible where she found guidance and hope.

Designing an Older Adult Ministry
By Richard H. Gentzler, Jr. Discipleship Resources, 1999.
Author Rick Gentzler gives readers new ways to develop and strengthen ministries with older adults, providing: information about the needs and life issues of older adults; tools to help congregations evaluate their current situation; models for ministry with older adults; and suggested resources.

Family: The Forming Center, Revised Edition
by Marjorie Thompson (The Upper Room, 1997).
Thompson's book is one of the best books for stating the case for family as a center of faith.

A Faithful Future: Teaching and Learning for Discipleship
Written by a team of gifted Christian educators and grounded in Scripture, A Faithful Future helps congregations that want to improve on the five processes identified inKeeping in Touch by Carol F. Krau.

Forgiving Your Family: A Journey to Healing
By Kathleen Fischer (Upper Room Books).
Why is it that the closest people to us often cause the deepest, most wrenching pain? Family can either provide restful refuge or prompt you to find it elsewhere. A quick channel-surf through daytime television illustrates that! From the petty irritation to the grievous wrong, forgiving is one of the hardest tasks families face.

Forty-Sixty: A Study for Midlife Adults Who Want to Make a Difference
By Richard H. Gentzler and Craig Kennet Miller. Discipleship Resources, 2001.
Designed to be used individually or in a small group, Forty-Sixty identifies 10 significant issues many people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s face as they experience midlife.

The Graying of the Church: A Leader's Guide for Older Adult Ministy in the United Methodist Church
by Richard H. Gentzler, Jr. (Discipleship Resources, January 2004)
Without a doubt, both society and United Methodist congregations are “graying.” Nearly 50% of United Methodist church members are 60 or older.

I Never Found That Rocking Chair: God's Call at Retirement
By Richard L. Morgan. Upper Room Books.
This insightful book views retirement as a time set aside for rewarding involvement and deepening spirituality.

Job Descriptions & Leadership Training for Local Church Leaders 2005-2008
By Thomas R. Hawkins (Discipleship Resources, 2004)
This packet of job descriptions and suggestions for leadership training is intended for pastors and laity who want to strengthen their congregation’s leaders. It begins with a look at the biblical and theological foundations for the development of a leadership development system.

Learning on the Run: Active Christian Learning Experiences for Youth and Adults
By Ted Endacott
Christian educators have known it all along: Learning can be FUN! It's all in the presentation. Learning on the Run is a practical how-to book advocating the praxis style of teaching, meaning action followed by reflection. Learners of all ages discover things for themselves through movement, noise, emotion, and challenging thinking. It's learning through creative engagement.

The Pulse of United Methodist Baby Boomers
By Richard H. Gentzler, Jr. and Carolyn S. Poole
An online book in html and pdf formats.

Start Here: Teaching and Learning with Adults
by Barbara Bruce. Discipleship Resources, 2000.
Based on some of the newest information on faith development and adult learning, Start Here helps teachers of adult Sunday school classes and other small groups create learning environments where adults can grow in faith.