Let’s not just focus on the senior ministry. Let’s go intergenerational: Senior Ministry Leader’s Forum

“My passion is to be the oldest youth pastor in Singapore,” declared Ps Eugene Seow, as he shared how his heart is still very much for the next generation. This might seem an odd statement considering that the 70-year-old was addressing people who had come to learn about running a senior ministry. Ps Eugene, who […] The post Let’s not just focus on the senior ministry. Let’s go intergenerational: Senior Ministry Leader’s Forum appeared first on Salt&Light.

Religion May 31, 2026 0 0 Add to Reading List

Let’s not just focus on the senior ministry. Let’s go intergenerational: Senior Ministry Leader’s Forum

“My passion is to be the oldest youth pastor in Singapore,” declared Ps Eugene Seow, as he shared how his heart is still very much for the next generation.

This might seem an odd statement considering that the 70-year-old was addressing people who had come to learn about running a senior ministry.

Ps Eugene Seow sharing his vision of an intergenerational church.

Ps Eugene, who is the Chairman of Antioch 21, a national missions movement, was speaking at the inaugural Senior Ministry Leader’s Forum organised by the Caleb Generation in April.

The Caleb Generation is a movement to empower the Silver Generation – those aged 60 and above – in Singapore churches.

“Why I’m in senior work is because I believe that there is such an important role for seniors,” said Ps Eugene, who was a panellist at the event.

“There is such an impact of seniors on the next generation. The rising up of seniors and the call of seniors in the senior ministry is precisely for that purpose – for the next generation.

“So my call for us is not to have a vision for seniors, but to have a vision for an intergenerational community that is connected, generation to generation.”

Connected in unity and purpose

Ps Eugene added that the vision for each church cannot be just about the youths, or adults, or families, or even seniors alone. It has to connect these generations together.

Quoting Acts 2:17, he said: “When I was looking at Scripture, I asked myself, ‘Why do you think God inspired the prophet to write about young men seeing visions, and old men dreaming dreams?’

“I want to suggest to you that God has a very unique, distinct vision for each generation. And each generation’s vision is not separate. Young men see visions. Old men dream dreams. And it all comes from that one Spirit.

“I want to see a vision where the generations are connected in unity and in purpose.”

“If the one Spirit is poured out on the young man, he will become a visioner. To the old man, it is a dream. But they are actually one thing, and out of that will result in this – everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

He continued: “So my heart is really this: It is not just about having an intergenerational church. It’s to have a church where the generations are connected to each other.

“Because the survivability of where we are for the future has got nothing to do with how long we do our senior ministry. It’s how well the senior ministry will do in connection with the family ministry, in connection with the youth ministry, in connection with the children’s ministry.

“I want to see a vision where the generations are connected in unity and in purpose.”

“It is the generations serving together.”

Ps Eugene also noted that the blessings in Psalm 123 are related to “generations connected in unity of relationship, friendship, learning to walk together and purpose”. That purpose, he added, is “a destiny of God’s call for us as a nation”.

To create a connected intergenerational community, Ps Eugene advocates what he termed “the Mordecai and Esther generational model”, as seen in the book of Esther.

In the way Mordecai guided Esther, there is “such a beautiful illustration of the connection between the senior generation and the next generation”, he noted.

“It is the generations serving together, believing God’s destiny for their nation that caused what was happening – the revival and the protection of God’s people. And that call is really what I believe this vision is all about.”

Why it matters

Ps Eugene went on to explain weaving the senior ministry into the life of the Church is so important.

“God wants us to be an aspiration for the next generation. I tell the seniors, ‘If you inspire the next generation by telling them this is the season where ‘I’m weak, I don’t have anything’, then why would the young people want to grow up and be a senior?’

“He saw five generations. That’s how you impact today.”

“No, we need to showcase that actually we are at our best. That this is the best time of God’s call on our life.”

Sharing a personal story, he recounted how his five-year-old grandson once told him that when he grew up, he wanted to be a yeye (grandfather).

“That really brought a tear to my eye. My little Noah, at five years old, can see himself as a grandfather,” he said. That statement showed Ps Eugene that, as a senior, he has the ability to impact generations down the line, including his grandson’s grandchildren.

How one church did it

At Bethesda Bedok Tampines Church (BBTC), the church has moved from being multigenerational to intergenerational.

Senior Pastor Chua Seng Lee reorganised the church after he saw that, in one senior cell group, the youngest member was 82.

He realised that the burden of care in a seniors-only cell group was too great for an elderly cell group leader. There needed to be younger people to care for the older ones.

Ps Chua Seng Lee talking about the BBTC example.

Now, every cell group includes members from three different decades – for example, someone in their 50s, 60s and 70s, or someone in their 40s, 50s, 60s.

“Organised like that, then the whole church can take care of other another. That’s a pragmatic reason,” said Ps Seng Lee.

“The other reason is the vision – the church is a family model. So not everybody can be of the same age.”