The life expectancy in the U.S.A. has increased and the Christian church finds itself in the position of having to extend pastoral care to an increasingly larger number of senior members of our churches. My proposed thesis project will be to use qualitative research methods of collecting data in order to design a training program. The educational theory of change suggests that education and training can be transformative in helping people or groups of people learn new ways of thinking and behaving. In the Christian context, the scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments encourages the people of God to live out the good news of salvation by caring for the elderly. I will facilitate the training of the First Presbyterian Church Deacon Board to better do visitations with the shut-in, sick and elderly members of our congregation. The efficiency of the training program will be evaluated by the increase or decrease in the number of visitations to the homebound.
