Parents in your ministry don’t have time to disciple their children—or, at least, that’s the way many of them feel when they look at their weekly to-do lists. According to comprehensive surveys and interviews with hundreds of parents, half of all church-involved parents have simply resigned themselves to the notion that their families are too busy […]
[Read More...]
Family Ministry: The Importance of Apologetics Training for Parents
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of sitting down with Ron Hunter—founder and director of the D6 Conference—to talk about my passion for training parents to equip their children to defend what they believe. Joel Teague joined in the discussion as well and described his experiences as a missionary in a secularized context. […]
[Read More...]
Family Ministry: D6 Conference in Louisville
Every year, I look forward to attending and speaking at the premier family ministry conference in the United States, coming up September 21-23 this year in Louisville. The conference is known as D6—short for “Deuteronomy 6”—and I’ll be speaking twice at the D6 Conference this year. Here are the two topics that I’ll be addressing:
[Read More...]
Family Ministry: Parenting Conference in St. Louis
How can God’s story reshape the way you parent your children? That’s the question that I’ll be answering at an upcoming parenting conference in the city of St. Louis!
[Read More...]
Family Ministry: Three Models for Ministry to Families
When asked to provide a step-by-step process for implementing family ministry, Mark DeVries jokingly provided this progression: “Try something. Fail. Try something else. Fail again. Try something else. Stumble on one thing that works. Repeat what works. Try something else … you get the idea.” I appreciate Mark’s honesty and good humor, and there’s certainly […]
[Read More...]
Culture: The Worldview of Star Wars
To coincide with what has become one of the biggest movie premieres in history, The Christian Examiner discussed the theology behind the Star Wars universe with me. Why is our society so enamored with Star Wars? Incessant merchandising, of course, has been part of it from the very beginning. But there are a couple of additional […]
[Read More...]
Family Ministry: PROOF Pirates Book and Vacation Bible School Material
Chore charts. Report cards. Standardized tests. Athletic banquets. Kids are inundated with messages about their performance. Because performance—work and reward—is one of the basic structures of our lives, kids often grow up thinking, “I am what I am because of what I do . . . or because of what I’ve failed to do.” How […]
[Read More...]
Family Ministry: What If Your Child Is Far More Than Your Child?
An excerpt from my recent book, co-edited with Dr. John David Trentham, Practical Family Ministry
[Read More...]
Practical Family Ministry: A Book I’m Not Embarrassed to Beg You to Buy
You may have noticed that I have a new book out that I co-edited with my colleague Dr. John David Trentham. In Practical Family Ministry, we’ve brought together several practitioners to provide you with a plethora of practical ideas to strengthen your church’s family ministry. Sometimes, I’m hesitant to ask you to purchase a book that I’ve written […]
[Read More...]
Family Ministry: Three Truths and Three Tips for Engaging with Families in Your Church
The animated feature The Incredibles is a favorite movie in our household—and one of our favorite scenes is the family meal early in the film. Dinner at the Parr household has deteriorated into pandemonium. The infant squeals in delight at the chaos as two siblings engage in super-powered combat. A frazzled mom strains unsuccessfully to […]
[Read More...]
Church History: Father’s Day without a Father and the Unsung Stanzas of Amazing Grace
Today, for the fourth year, I experience Father’s Day as a father but without a living father. My father passed away in the late summer of 2011. As far back as I can remember, his favorite hymn was “Amazing Grace.” I do not recall this song ever being sung without it drawing tears from his eyes. […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: Living in a Story that Leaves an Impression
2015-02-22 Dr Timothy Jones from Tri-Cities Baptist Church on Vimeo.
[Read More...]