Senior Service

The word “retirement” isn’t in the Bible, at least not in the sense that we ever retire from serving God and others. Seniors who’ve had active lives may want to relax a bit during their retirement years, but continuing in ministry—even just a day or two each month, will help them realize that God still wants what they have to offer.

Here are 25 ideas for “senior service” to get you started:


1. Adopt a “grandchild.”
2. Volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center.
3. Help young business entrepreneurs.
4. Provide childcare for MOPS or other young mothers’ programs.
5. Plant flowers in working neighbors’ yards (with their permission, of course).
6. Visit nursing home patients.
7. Volunteer to work at a church camp.
8. Watch a single mom’s kids while she goes grocery shopping.
9. Serve meals at a homeless shelter.
10. Be a prayer partner, or volunteer to coordinate a prayer chain.
11. Teach English as a second language (ESL).
12. Do odd jobs for a neighbor.
13. Collect or distribute food at a local food bank.
14. Volunteer at the humane society.
15. Work on a Habitat for Humanity home.
16. Deliver Meals on Wheels.
17. Teach crafts, music, or another skill.
18. Serve as a hospital volunteer.
19. Help with a community cleanup project.
20. Coach Little League or a kids’ soccer team.
21. Work at a blood drive or flu shot clinic.
22. Serve as an election judge.
23. Provide meals for families with new babies.
24. Deliver prescription medicines to shut-ins.
25. Help a mission or nonprofit organization do mailings.


These ideas were originally published in Rev! magazine, and this is just one of the thousands of articles available to members of Church Volunteer Central in our Idea Depot.
Copyright © 2009 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.