During an afternoon break, I was involved in a conversation with a pastor from Ohio. I was telling him how the Lord had called my wife and I to develop C.A.R.E. Ministries, and how we were seeing God doing great things through the nursing home ministry. I wish you could have seen his face when I shared some statistics about the number of nursing homes in our immediate are (63 within just a 40 mile radius of our home!). He was amazed when I told him that Ohio and Pennsylvania were number 3 and 5 respectively in the number of nursing homes in America! His reaction is something we've come to expect. Unfortunately, most pastors are not aware of the mission field of "those nearest eternity", as we like to say, literally on their doorstep. While no one would dispute the need to plant new churches in America, or to reach the multitudes around the globe who have never heard the gospel, the nursing home presents a never-ending opportunity to reach dear souls with the gospel of Jesus Christ. While most Bible-preaching churches have some sort of nursing home outreach, statistics are such that it would require every church to have 14 nursing home ministries just to meet the current demand.
In 2010 the "baby boomer" generation began to turn 65. According to the Population Reference Bureau: "There were actually 76 million births in the United States from 1946 to 1964, inclusive, the 19 years usually called the "baby boom." (By contrast, there were only 66 million births, in a larger U.S. population, during the 19 years following the baby boom, which included the baby bust of the 1970s.)"
The "boomer" population has the potential of swelling nursing home capacities beyond belief. In our area, we are ministering in two facilities that are going to combine into a newly remodeled one that will have the ability to handle residents from both, as well as provide an increased quality of care. Nursing homes are getting ready to meet the need. Is your church?
Are you wondering why there is a picture of an empty nursing home bed? Every day we read the paper and notice that someone from one of the area nursing homes we minister in has slipped off into eternity. Sometimes it's someone who has been saved during one of our services, or someone who has followed the Lord throughout their life. Although they will be missed physically, we rejoice to know they are in Heaven. However, it is heartbreaking to see a name listed of one whom we were unsure about their relationship with the Lord. Thankfully, the Lord gives us fresh fruit for our labors. Recently a number of folks in several homes have responded to the gospel and placed their faith in Christ for salvation. The nursing home truly is a field that is "white unto harvest"......every day!Our schedule is busy. In addition to preaching nearly every day in the nursing homes, I have accepted the responsibility of being the interim-pastor at the church out of which we operate our ministry. There is no financial compensation for this, but it is rewarding to see God working in the lives of this small congregation of committed believers who want to see God do something great among them. Our prayer would be that, as the church grows, God would eventually bring the right man along who can shepherd this flock and take it to higher ground. In the meantime, we would covet your prayers as we seek to fulfill our calling to reach the lost among the elderly in the nursing homes, and in the communities around the church.
Serving Him,
Missionary Pastor Norm Aabye
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