Golden Age Aglow:

The power of the Lord building a legacy of faith

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:25-26

Women Need Women.

This is a foundational part of the ministry of Aglow from the very beginning. But, as Dr. Tahira Saleem, National President of Aglow Pakistan, pointed out to me in a message recently, women (especially those over the age of 50) are facing many negative thoughts and battling spiritual warfare from spirits of depression, and other negative spirits.

While it is important for ministries, like Aglow, to focus on fostering and building relationships with younger women, there is a key part of that goal that can be easily overlooked. We speak a lot of ‘bringing in the younger generations,’ but let’s not hurry so quickly to bring in the new that we accidentally overlook the wisdom, faithfulness, and spiritual legacy of the women who have carried this ministry for decades.

Younger women do not simply need programs or events; they need examples, mentors, prayer warriors, and spiritual mothers who can walk beside them and help strengthen their faith.

In the beautiful nation of Pakistan, the Lord is fruitfully growing a new type of Aglow group called “Golden Age Aglow” for women 65 and older. This group is growing rapidly and serves many important purposes, such as fellowship for women in a similar life stage, pastoral care for widows, retirees, caregivers, and isolated seniors, prayer and encouragement, preserving memory and wisdom, and creating opportunities for mentoring and service.

Golden Age Aglow does not segregate younger women but rather supports and disciples’ community that strengthens the foundation of the whole ministry of Aglow. As this group, and others like it, grow, they create beautiful possible paths forward for intergenerational connection through prayer partners, mentoring, shared service projects, testimony nights, practical support for young mothers, leadership coaching, and more. These are the bridges the Lord has called us to build as a ministry, and without these bridges, we lose the ability to support and learn from one another.

Ministries that honor and support older women instead of allowing them to feel sidelined make a huge impact for the Kingdom and are a powerful testimony to younger women. Doing so communicates that women are valued in each season of life, not just when they are young, busy, or socially “relevant” in the world’s lens. Groups like “Golden Age Aglow’ create a healthier long-term culture rather than accidentally getting caught in the societal ‘norm’ of quietly pushing older women to the margins in pursuit of youthfulness.

As Church and Family Life points out, “groups for older women provide the 'spiritual mothers’ who are needed to build a sustainable, mature, and intergenerational community. Rather than being counterproductive, a group of older women acts as a ‘greenhouse’ for discipleship.”

Isn’t it a beautiful, scriptural concept that in our pursuit of young women, we must first create strong foundations that strengthen, support, and hold up the ministry for generations to come?  Isn’t it also a powerful testimony of Aglow that after almost 60 years of Kingdom work, we probably have the largest group of spiritual mothers worldwide?

It is by Divine leading that Aglow International marches in a new era where not only do we call out for the young to join us, but we do so from a matriarchal place with soft, loving, wide open arms ready to embrace the young women who come running towards the light, aglow and burning in the Spirit?