4 ways to nurture faith in those living with dementia

More than 30 years ago, Rev Dr Alby Yip was driving along the expressway when he spotted an elderly woman walking along the road shoulder.

When he saw her try to cross the busy thoroughfare, Rev Dr Yip quickly pulled over, got out of his car and held her back.

“She looked confused. She couldn’t tell me where she was going, so I drove her to the nearest police post,” he recalled.

That was his first encounter with dementia.

Since then, he has encountered more elderly with dementia on the roads and at void decks, and has either driven them home or taken them to the nearest police station.

“It really sparked in me a greater empathy for people with dementia. And I think it helped me when my own mom developed dementia,” he said.

Rev Dr Alby Yip sharing from his experience ministering to those with dementia. Photo courtesy of St Luke’s ElderCare.

Rev Dr Yip, Senior Pastor of Zion Bishan Bible-Presbyterian Church and an accredited mediator on the Singapore Mediation Centre’s Associate and Family panels, was speaking at the St Luke’s ElderCare CommCare Symposium 2025 on the topic, Faith Beyond Forgetting – Sustaining the Spiritual Life of Believers with Dementia.

Salt&Light summarised his sharing into four ways we can help believers with dementia thrive in their faith, even as their participation in the larger church community becomes more challenging.

1. Remember our calling to those who forget

In caring for those with dementia, sometimes we, as caregivers, forget that they have this condition, making us more prone to exasperation and bitterness when dealing with them.

This is when it is especially important for us to remember that, while we are broken beings living in a fallen world, God has not forgotten about us – or them, said Rev Dr Yip. 

The Bible does not explicitly mention dementia, but the act of remembering is such an important part of God’s Word that there are more than 200 references to the word ‘remembering’ in the Bible.

Rev Dr Yip said: “The word ‘remember’ is a covenant word in the Bible. In fact, the first three mentions of ‘remember’ – Genesis 8:1, Genesis 9:15-16 – are accredited to God remembering humans, all of us who are utterly helpless and hopeless, spiritually and physically.

“God promised to remember to care for humans in this broken world marked by sin, illness and brokenness. And in redeeming His people, God is also calling His people to be a part of His work in this broken and sinful world, to be agents of His grace and mercy.

“That, I believe, must be our starting point as we seek to understand and minister in dementia ministry.”

2. Engage them spiritually

Sharing from his experience as a volunteer with people with dementia, Rev Dr Yip offered some practical ideas on what activities to include in dementia ministry, to sustain the spiritual lives of those with dementia.

Praise and worship

Music can be a wonderful bridge to those with dementia.

“Any good Christian gathering must begin with, not just singing, but praising God. It is really to remind our friends and ourselves, again and again and again, that there is a God who loves us and is worthy of our worship,” said Rev Dr Yip.

Hands-on activities

There are many activities to engage the mind and body.

He suggested encouraging them to sing and clap along to music, or to use bells and instruments to participate in songs. Art and crafts with a spiritual theme can also remind them of God’s goodness and provision, he added.

Then there is reminiscence therapy. Getting them to use common household objects can tap into their long-term memories. Often, this may result in them sharing the “good old times”.

“This may involve hand-eye coordination exercises that are fun games for them. You will hear them giggle and laugh as they play along, perhaps even competitively.

“We also play matching games and memory games, which also gets them all excited.”

Fellowship meals

Food can further break the ice.

“Sometimes the volunteers will cook, and sometimes they just march over to the coffeeshop to eat together, just to spend time together, to take them out of the confines of their homes into a wider space, into wider company.”

Prayer and Bible devotions

One the things Rev Dr Yip always does when he visits the elderly is to provide them with prayer pointers.

“I remind them, ‘While you may be home, confined to the home or confined to the hospital, each of us has different seasons in life. In some seasons, we do this, we do that. But in some seasons, we pray.

“’We pray because God can use us in every season of our lives, whether we are in health or in sickness.’”

He conducts Bible devotions with them as well.

“The key lesson we want them to learn is not so much doctrines or theology, or even to remember the Bible stories. We want them to remember to remember God. More importantly, we want them to remember that God remembers them.”  

Added Rev Dr Yip: “I am there to remind them – and myself – on that day, in that moment, that God remembers them, that God loves them.

“I am there on that day, in that particular moment, to show them and their caregivers that though they cannot see God, they can feel God’s love through me, through my actions, through my words.

“We remember to remember that while they forget, they are not forgotten.”

3. Care for their caregivers

Caring for those with dementia is not an easy task, Rev Dr Yip acknowledged.

“I must not only paint a rosy picture of dementia care and dementia ministry – play some games, sing some songs and all is grace and glory. It’s so much more than that, because the challenge of the daily grind is enormous,” he said.

Caregiver care is something very personal to him. When he was caring for his mother with dementia, she would sometimes tell people that he had not been giving her an allowance, and that she had no money for food – facts that were untrue.

“When I heard that, I must confess that there were so many times I felt embarrassed and even offended when people believed her. Then they questioned us, ‘Why didn’t you take care of your mum?’

“What was even more painful was that no one ever asked how I was, or how I felt, even after they knew the truth.”

This is why he does his best to engage dementia caregivers. “We must remember and not forget that the caregivers, too, are experiencing the effects of this broken and sinful world, and they are also loved and cared by God.”

4. See the unseen

Sometimes, we can fail to see the person behind the dementia.

“When dementia took a hold of them, they are not who they are. They are not who God created them to be. But they have yet to be who God will make them to be when He brings His plan to its great fulfilment when Christ comes again,” said Rev Dr Yip.

“It takes eyes of faith to see beyond the seen to the unseen, to see beyond what is before us – the pain, the toil and the struggle – to the Who that is beyond us.”

Rev Dr Yip shared a story of how he recently visited the mother of a church member. She had dementia and had been hospitalised following a fall.

“When I reached the hospital, the member’s wife met me and told me, ‘Pastor, don’t be affected or disappointed when you see her because she hasn’t responded to anyone in the last eight days.’”

Undeterred, Rev Dr Yip met her, held her hands and chatted with her “as if she was cognisant”. In the middle of his monologue, she began to respond a little. Emboldened, he asked to pray the Sinner’s Prayer with her. She agreed.

Almost immediately, he worried that her response had not been genuine. But as he bid her farewell, she said: “Bye-bye.”

The elderly woman had understood everything.

Said Rev Dr Yip: “If not for the unseen Hand, I can’t see how it would come to be. As one Bible commentator said, ‘Coincidences are merely God’s hand in the glove of history.’

“So let us make space in our lives that God’s hand may fit into the gloves of our lives so the unseen may be seen in and through us.”

St Luke’s ElderCare (SLEC) is organising the SLEC Miles of Smiles 60km Challenge to honour and support its elders – the ones who have shaped our nation, communities and families.

Participants can run, walk or hike 60km anywhere from November 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026.

SLEC aims to raise S$500,000 for its elders through this virtual challenge. Your support will help build a future with dignity, care and a smile.

Click here to find out more.

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