Almost three decades ago the Lord led me to begin a ministry to grandparents and senior adults reminding them that we are called to “pass the torch” of faith in Christ and His Gospel to another generation. Never did I imagine that this would be the start of what would become the Christian Grandparenting Network.
In 2020, after more than two decades of leading CGN, God made it clear it was time to hand off the flame of leadership to another. Sherry Schumann, our National Prayer Director for CGN, took up that torch and has carried that flame brightly and powerfully for the last five years.
Now another time for passing the torch has come. It is exciting for me to watch as God continues to provide strong, visionary leadership in this ministry I never envisioned would be where it is today. Here is a link to the Change in the Air post by Sherry Schumann, the outgoing President, and Josh Mulvihill, the new President, that will update you about what God is doing to carry the CGN torch forward.
But that is not the only passing of the torch that is about to occur. As you know, I have been leading ElderQuest Ministries since passing the CGN torch to Sherry Schumann in 2020. It is now time for me to pass the ElderQuest torch to my good firend and ministry colleague, Jere Vincent, President of Family Builders. Jere will continue to carry the flame of engaging the generations with the Gospel and living out the joy and blessing of being part of God’s family. It is new time in which God will be glorified and the body of Christ will be strengthened.
This transition will happen at the end of 2025. I will continue to write a few blog articles from time to time, and perhaps do a speaking engagement here and there. But the time has come for a new chapter in the lives of me and my wife, Diane. This isn’t a time of “retirement” for us, but “refirement” to a new era of God’s calling and fulfilling His purposes for and through us.
Thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement, and participation in the ministry of calling grandparents and older saints to carry that torch of the Gospel high so another generation may know the Lord and the wonders He has done. My prayer is that we will not let the flame die out, but carry it high as long as God has us in the race, and then pass that torch to another who will carry it and eventually pass it to others.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. In the meantime, may we truly be the aroma of Christ to our grandchildren, our children, and all those whom God may bring across our path. Let the presence of Christ and His Gospel banish from us all fears about our future and live purposefully as disciples of Christ ready to go when Christ comes and will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Oh my – although I knew this was coming, I guess I wasn’t prepared for seeing it in print, as I type through my tears. Cavin Harper has made the truly remarkable change of our being simply ordinary grandparents to learning from his font of wisdom how to be extraordinarily intentional grandparents. And we cannot begin to describe what an extraordinarily positive experience this has made in our family! We are so very grateful to you, Cavin! I don’t know how we can ever begin to thank you enough! The beautiful and meaningful experience of eight amazing summer weeks with our four grandchildren – four at Christ Haven Lodge in Colorado, and then four DIY GrandCamp weeks in fun venues, have allowed us to pour Jesus into the lives of our grandchildren as we were, at the same time, building deep bonds with them. Thank you for the boundless days, months, years that you have poured your talent and your wisdom into developing these ministries. OUR FAMILY IS FOREVER GRATEFUL TO YOU!