Nursing Home Music Concert

Nursing Home Ministry Manual

written by Tom McCormick

If someone is going to consider taking part in a ministry to the elderly, he needs to know what is required. He must come to grips with the needs. He must discern what the word of God directs him to do. He must assess his own gifts and recognize his strengths and weaknesses. And, above all, he must develop a genuine concern for the welfare of those to whom he would minister. 

 Anyone who visits nursing homes has stories to tell, and I am no exception. The stories point to the tremendous need. 

Mr. Joseph Dean was a lonely man. He was living at the Geriatric Center and there were few people there with whom he could communicate. He was deeply interested in spiritual things; he liked to talk about the Bible and problems related to it. Mr. Dean had no living relatives that I know of, and only occasionally did any friend have time to visit him-so he was very much alone. Mr. Dean longed for release from the pain and anguish of his world.

 'I was disappointed when I woke up this morning," he told me one day 

"Why?" I asked. 

"I prayed last night that when I awoke this morning I would be in heaven. Instead, when I opened my eyes I found I was still here!" Mr. Dean's experience was not all that unusual. The number of happy people in a nursing home often is quite small. 

It is difficult for someone to lose not only his friends, but also his independence. Mr. Dean was confined to bed and was totally dependent upon the nursing assistants who might not be able to come when he needed them. There were times when he sat for hours on a bed pan waiting for the nurses to come. I remember well one lady with Parkinson's disease who was unable to keep her hands from jerking and who, though she enjoyed reading, was finding it more and more impossible. This lady, who gave no evidence of being a Christian, would ask, "Why me? Why is this happening to me?"

I remember another elderly lady from a Christian Science background who was in great pain as she lay dying with cancer. I remember telling her of the nature of Christ-that he was not just man but both God and man. "To think," she repeated over and over again, "I have been wrong all these years." She thanked me for 4 telling her and at that time gave evidence of committing herself to Christ, the eternal Son of God. 

Another lady, who had been a nurse and had spent her life sacrificing and giving to others, told me that she had always expected that when she became old there, would be someone to do the same thing for her that she had done for others. It was a big disappointment for her to learn that her own life of giving was not a guarantee that she would be remembered when she was old. Her own daughter, married to a millionaire, did not have time to bring her postage stamps. 

These examples point to some of the many needs that exist among the aged. But it is not enough merely to become aware of the needs. We must also become aware of our obligation as Christians. I think of the passage in James which tells us that faith without works is dead. The Christian simply cannot face needs without at the same time becoming aware of the obligation.

 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:15-17 (KJV) 

I think also of that well-known passage from St. Paul's letter written to the church at Philippi. God's people are called upon to have in them the same mind which was in Christ Jesus. We are not to be preoccupied with ourselves but rather we should be deeply concerned about the needs of others, even as Christ was willing to forget his own rights to the privileges of heaven and in obedience to his Father humiliate himself on this earth, making himself of no reputation and becoming obedient unto death, even the death on the cross (see Phil. 2:4ff.). 

These two passages point to the obligation that is placed upon all Christians to forget themselves and to follow their Lord by showing mercy and love for those who are in need. This lifestyle of service after the manner of Christ is filled with countless blessings and innumerable rewards. Please respond.

Full text manual can be found in "File Share"