Accomplishing Goals: Part 1 (Church)

Hampton Park Baptist Church Auditorium

Our first goal in retirement was to get more involved in our local church. While we have been faithful attenders at Hampton Park Baptist Church for over 25 years, our profession as college educators meant that we didn’t get as involved in church activities as we would have liked. Since retiring we have joined the Power Company (activities for seniors) and attended their monthly Timely Topics lunches, a couple of dinners, and a few activities including attending a Greenville Drive game. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to participate in any of the Power Company overnight trips because they were scheduled the same time as our own personal travel.

We have also become members of two Life Groups. Life Groups meet one evening each week to discuss the previous week’s Sunday morning message, pray for each other, and fellowship (since we are Baptists that means eating).

In addition, my wife has joined the Ladies Bible Study. For a while I was also meeting with a group of men from the church for a weekly Pickleball game.

Finally, we are members of the Abiding Sunday School class. Our class has a fellowship every 3 or 4 months. We host the class every winter for a Soup Supper at our house over two consecutive nights. As Christians we are told in the Bible to not “forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another . . . “ (Hebrews 10: 25, NIV). We believe assembling with believers is an important part of our spiritual growth and development.

In addition to the spiritual growth and accountability of attending church, there is also an important aspect of socialization that occurs in fellowship with each other. Researchers report that seniors need socialization to help fight cognitive decline. A researcher at Penn State “found that when adults between the ages of 70 and 90 reported more frequent, pleasant social interactions, they also had better cognitive performance on that day and the following two.” Other positive outcomes from socialization include reduced feelings of loneliness, enhanced emotional support systems, boosted self-esteem, and a greater sense of purpose in life.

We are looking forward to continuing to increase our involvement in our local church throughout our retirement.