Peter Atkins turns 80 next month. He’s battled five bouts of cancer, served as a missionary in Malaysia with OMF, spent over 25 years as an Anglican minister and retired from a full life (52 years) in ministry. But he’s not done.

Tasmania’s 50 Plus Bible Convention organisers, Mark Hochman (left) and Peter Atkins (right).

When Peter and his wife Ruth retired to Bruny Island, a small community off south-east Tasmania, they grew greatly discouraged. “We lacked in fellowship and opportunities as older Christians,” Peter says. Having been so involved in a vibrant city church prior to retirement, he didn’t like the feeling that “once you retire, you’re finished.”

“We reject that idea,” says Peter. “We’ve always had a missionary heart. You never retire from God’s service.”

In search of meaningful fellowship, Peter and Ruth went along to the first 50 Plus Bible Convention in Tasmania, organised by the Tasmanian Christian Convention. And it was such a blessing to them, they’ve made it their new life’s work.

“We’ve made it a priority for our lives to pour ourselves into this convention. It’s another way we find that we can meaningfully share with others the Christian life and try to encourage each other.”

This weekend, over 70 older Christians will attend the 50 Plus Bible Convention, being held in West Tamar on the north coast of Tasmania.

Peter’s now the chairman of the committee that has been organising the 50 Plus Bible Convention for seven years. Each year, the 3-day convention sees older Christians from around Tasmania meet together to be fed from God’s Word and to learn from each other what it’s like and what it means to be an older person living for Christ.

“The needs of the elderly at church and in fellowship are very different than younger Christians,” Peter says. “And there’s a lack of understanding about how to support older Christians.”

This year’s convention theme is “Living victoriously in hostile times” and Peter says it’s particularly relevant to older Christians, who can feel undervalued in their churches and communities, and might struggle with fractured relationships in their families or who are suffering illness.

The Convention is a place where older Christians are given the opportunity to open up about their struggles and to provide loving support for each other. Peter says there are some who attend (including himself) who are sick, but the support of brothers and sisters in Christ helps them keep focused on finishing the race well.

Peter suggests that young people in churches can learn a lot from the older Christians around them. He is mentoring a younger man from his own church—they read the Bible together, pray together and Peter shares experiences from his own life; “What I’ve learned and what’s been valuable to me.”

“I think as older Christians we all realise that the world is now very different to when we were young. But I suppose it’s encouraging to see a willingness from young Christians to learn from those who have experienced life. I think mentoring is a great way of doing that.”

Peter points to a quote from Billy Graham in his book Nearing Home that’s a guiding point for what he is trying to do in his service to the convention: “All my life, I was taught how to die as a Christian, but no one ever taught me how I ought to live in the years before I die. I wish they had because I am an old man now, and believe me, it’s not easy.”

Peter hopes the convention will be able to help Tasmania’s older Christians in this.

“At one stage of my life, I was concerned about to whom I’m going to get married; what am I going to do with my life? But when you get to my stage now, you’ve lived your life. You begin to focus on heaven and the life to come. I think, as a Christian, we want to take the attitude that we see in Paul’s life [from the Bible]. We want a life well-run.”