Supporting caregivers. Honoring seniors. Empowering churches.
Helping churches care for the families they may not see.
Seniors who stop coming on Sunday, the husbands and wives caring for each other at home, and the sons and daughters quietly carrying a parent are often the least visible people in a congregation. bēkn works alongside pastors to build ministries that see them.
The problem we see
Caregiving pulls families out of church right when they need it most.
A wife becomes her husband’s nurse. An aging parent moves in, or moves into memory care. Sunday becomes the hardest morning of the week. The family drifts, and nobody notices because nobody is looking for them.
Family caregivers in the United States, up nearly 50% since 2015. In Hamilton County, about 85,000.
AARP & National Alliance for Caregiving, Caregiving in the US 2025. County estimate: Tennessee’s 28% caregiving rate (AARP 2025) applied to county adults.Of the help older adults in the United States receive comes from family, friends, and other unpaid caregivers, not paid providers.
Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.Americans age 15 and older gave unpaid care to someone 65 or older because of an aging-related condition. In Hamilton County, about 45,000.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey, 2023–24. County estimate: the national rate (14% of people 15 and older) applied to county residents 15 and older.The yearly value of the unpaid care family caregivers provide in the United States: 59 million caregivers of adults, 49.5 billion hours. In Hamilton County, about $1.4 billion.
AARP Public Policy Institute, Valuing the Invaluable 2026 (2024 data). County estimate: Tennessee’s figure in the same report ($26 billion) applied to the county’s share of the state’s adults (5.4%).What bēkn does
Three ways we work with a congregation.
Each church chooses the mix that fits its people. Nothing is one‑size‑fits‑all.
Hands-on ministry launch
We sit down with pastoral leadership, assess what the congregation already has, and help launch or expand a seniors ministry that includes caregiving families.
Decision-making & caregiving workshops
Practical sessions on the conversations families avoid: wishes for later life, illness, accident, and end-of-life planning, grounded in Scripture.
Ministry to the Ministers
Care and renewal for the pastors and volunteers who carry everyone else.
In development
Why a beacon
A beacon warns, guides, and celebrates.
That is the whole mission in three words. We warn churches about the growing needs of seniors and family caregivers in their pews. We guide and equip church families to care for one another. And we celebrate the years of our aging loved ones, because gray hair is a crown of glory.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”
James 1:27From the resource library
Start here.
We invite you
Five things you can do here.
Whether you lead a church, care for someone, or want to help, there’s a next step for you.
Start a conversation
How can we help?
Join the prayer team, get the newsletter, volunteer, or tell us about your church. No commitment, no cost.