Caring for God's 'older' children

Caring for God's 'older' children

An Oklahoma-based company is providing senior care in the home -- but with a Christian approach.

Christian Companion Senior Care founder Gary Brown says that most senior citizens are concerned about their ability to live at home as their abilities decrease. He hires only Christians.

"It's a bona fide occupational qualification under Title VII of the civil rights act for a caregiver to be a Christian when they work for Christian Companion Senior Care because part of our service offered to seniors is spiritual encouragement in addition to the physical care that we provide," Brown explains.

But are faith matters important to seniors? According to Brown, surveys by Gallup and the Barna Group, claim that "75 percent of seniors over the age of 70 will say that their faith is the most important thing in their life." And apart from physical labor, workers are hired to address spiritual needs such as loneliness, depression, and regrets of their lives, and to do so through scripture and prayer.

"Christian Companion Senior Care was founded because we understand that by the time someone needs someone to come into their home to help them with daily living assistance, they're not just facing physical needs," he continues. "All of the physical care in the world – all the meal preparation, light housekeeping, etc. – can't really touch the spiritual needs people have," Brown contends.

Brown's business has become so popular that he is launching strategy to spread nationwide.