Karin Hardebusch highlights the challenges faced by educational work for older adults - also in the context of the church - due to the increasingly diverse population of older people and the extension of post-professional and post-family life spans. Based on an empirical study within the context of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, the author derives opportunities and challenges as well as potential factors for the success of self-organized adult education. In order to comprehensively meet the diverse educational needs of this heterogeneous target group, while still being differentiating and individualized, it is necessary to change existing offerings and develop new forms of provision. Self-organized educational work can be such a form of diversity-oriented work with older adults.