Finishing Well Ministries

Welcome to the work of Finishing Well Ministries. This year FWM celebrates 10 years of ministry – encouraging and challenging a senior generation to keep fulfilling God’s plan for our aging years. What began as a person-to-person encouragement ministry has evolved into an organization that equips thousands of people through books, a video series, online self-study courses, small group trainings in local churches and even a podcast ministry. As we celebrate 10 years, would give a generous financial gift so that the work God began would flourish even more? Thank you, and would you continue to pray for the work of God through FWM to strengthen aging believers in Dallas, across our country and around the world?” - Hal Habecker, Founder of Finishing well Ministries

The History of FWM

For over 10 years, Finishing Well Ministries has existed to further the Kingdom of God through the skills and passions of an older and godly generation. What began as a person-to-person encouragement ministry has evolved into an organization that equips thousands of people through books, a video series, online self-study courses, small group trainings in local churches and even a podcast ministry. 

Throughout our history, one thing has remained consistent:

God’s purposes for his people do not change at the age of retirement.

Today, Finishing Well Ministries is a difference-maker across our Dallas community, across the country, and even across the world. With the support of individuals, groups, and churches as well as networks with many sister organizations around the world, more older believers than ever are being encouraged to catch a vision for God’s purposes in their lives.

As we seek to live life from God's perspective and glorify Him, we will continue to maximize the impact of an older generation of men and women as disciples in the local church and for the kingdom of God.  As we continue to grow, we believe the best is yet to be.

Our Mission

To inspire and nurture aging Christians to understand and embrace God’s calling on their lives in their later years and equip them to actively pursue and fulfill that calling.

Our Vision

Fulfilling God’s plan for our aging years.

Our Purpose

As followers of Christ, we are called to keep growing spiritually, to keep being conformed to the image of Christ, to keep building the church, to keep sharing the Gospel, to keep on being ambassadors for Christ, to keep using our giftedness, and to keep on making disciples in every one of our retirement years. Mobilizing seniors throughout their retirement years is our purpose.

Our Problem

Our challenge is, and the challenge for the church, is that we live in a culture that marginalizes its aging population. 

Consider the following quote.

“For more than 5,000 years, "old" has been defined as beginning between the ages of 60 and 70. That means most people alive today will spend more years in elderhood than in childhood, and many will be elders for 40 years or more. Yet at the very moment that humans are living longer than ever before, we've made old age into a disease, a condition to be dreaded, denigrated, neglected, and denied.”

Louise Aronson, Elderhood: Refining Age, Transforming Medicine, Reimaging Life

Our Potential

We believe older people can make the greatest difference in the world. 

As Robert Browning once said, 

“Grow old along with me, The best is yet to be.”

Moses, God’s leader who led Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land, said this 

“Teach me to number my days that I may present to You a heart of wisdom"

“God Has a Purpose for Every One of our Aging Years”

The late Dr. Howard G. Hendricks made this important observation; 

"Old age is as important and meaningful a part of God's perfect will as youth. He is interested in both the waxing and waning of life. Just as potential is locked up in young people, and often never developed, so the full possibilities of old age often remain dormant and die with the person. The work of God will be greatly enriched when more attention is given to releasing and utilizing this hidden resource. Older people represent the greatest potential resource and labor pool within our churches, though consistently ignored."

Let's heed the voice of the late Dr. J. I. Packer (1926–2020, who said it this way; 

“Runners in a distance race… always try to keep something in reserve for a final sprint. And my contention is that, so far as our bodily health allows, we should aim to be found running the last lap of the race of our Christian life, as we would say, flat out. The final sprint, so I urge, should be a sprint indeed” (Finishing Our Course with Joy, pp. 21,22). 

Our Resources

We provide resources that will equip you to live well and finish well. God has a purpose for these incredible years. Listen to our podcasts as we address various aging issues. Podcast | Finishing Well 2024 (finishingwellministries.org)