A Florida church is asking baby boomers to consider joining their ministry as self-supported missionaries.
Sunlight Community Christian Reformed Church in Port St. Lucie, Fla., launched “Kingdom Builders” with a website that targets Christian Reformed boomers who are pondering how to spend their retirement years.
Rev. Scott Vander Ploeg points out that the baby boomer generation is more educated and wealthy and can expect to live longer than any previous generation.
“If God has given this gift of life, money, education, and success, what’s his purpose for doing that?” Vander Ploeg asks. “The only answer is that he wants us to use that for his kingdom.”
Sunlight has mostly young families and new Christians, and the influence of older, experienced Christians is invaluable, Vander Ploeg said. Florida’s population is rapidly growing, and the state is “a huge mission field.”
Retiree Jay Smit found that Port St. Lucie’s golf courses and sunshine were nice, but “not totally satisfying.” Smit now spends about 20 hours a week working on Sunlight’s budget and financial planning.
“These are things that fit into my background,” said Smit, who was the chief financial officer for a software company. “And there’s a tremendous payback for me. It’s my way of helping building the kingdom.”
You can find the church’s website at www.kingdombuild.org.
About the Author
Roxanne VanFarowe is a freelance writer who claims both Canadian and American citizenship and grew up in the Christian Reformed Church. She is a member of Blacknall Presbyterian Church in Durham, North Carolina.
