A Letter from Mark Roberts to Our Third Third Friends

Dear Third Third Friends,

I’m writing this letter for two reasons. First, I want to thank you. Second, I’d like to ask for your help.

Thank you for being part of our growing Third Third constituency. In May 2020 we had 0 subscribers to Third Third Life because it didn’t exist yet. A year and a half later, we have over 1800 subscribers and that number is continually growing.

That’s an encouraging piece of data, to be sure. But, along with the growing numbers, I continue to hear from folks about how much our Third Third Initiative is making a difference in their lives. That’s the point, after all. So, the personal communications I get from you are especially encouraging.

I’d like to ask for your help as we grow our Third Third work. We have a dream of touching the lives of thousands of third third folks as well as hundreds of churches. The need and opportunity for this third third work are immense. We really do want people to flourish in the third third of life and we are eager for their churches to help this happen. The resources we are producing – and will produce next year – are designed for this purpose. Those resources include:

• Regular webinars featuring people with thoughtful, practical third third wisdom.
• Dozens of articles in our Third Third Journal, which integrate biblical insight with scholarly research on older adulthood.
• A monthly newsletter to keep our constituency informed and connected.
• A brand-new video-based course, Flourishing in the Third Third of Life. We are producing this with Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas. We just finished a complete dry run of the prototype. In the next couple of months, we’ll get all the pieces in final shape so we can make this course available to churches across the country (and world). Our partnership with HP Pres has been amazing, by the way.
• Training modules to: 1) Help churches serve people in the third third of life, and 2) Help third third folk become wise, confident, and caring mentors.
• And much more . . . .

There are four ways you can help us in our third third work:

1. You can support us financially.

This effort exists because of the generosity of our supporters (individual donors and foundations). It was started with a generous seed gift from a couple who believed in this work. Now, we need to broaden and grow our base of support. This Third Third Initiative is part of the work of the De Pree Center, which is part of Fuller Seminary. So all gifts can be designated and are tax deductible. If you want to support the De Pree Center as a whole, that’s great. You can make this clear through the donation process. See the link below.

2. You can tell your friends about us

Or forward one of our newsletters to them. Word of mouth (or word of computer) is a big reason for our growth.

3. You can pray for God’s guidance, blessing, and wisdom.

4. You can write me

Let me know how this work is making a difference in your life, or how we might address your particular needs and concerns. You can always contact me at: markroberts@fuller.edu.

So, that’s it. I’ve thanked you and asked for your help.

Let me close with one additional word of thanks. I can’t tell you how much your support matters, not just to the De Pree Center and our Third Third Initiative, but also to me personally. Thank you for all you mean to our work and to me.

Grace and Peace,

Mark Roberts