Family ministry is not a series of activities. Family-equipping ministry in particular flows out of an identity that begins in the homes of ministry leaders. But this doesn’t mean that equipping families should become the identity that drives our ministry. Jesus alone is our identity, and his gospel is our story. Anything more or less […]
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Family Ministry: Stop Inviting and Start Involving
Without thinking too hard, you could probably tell me exactly who they are. In many smaller and mid-sized ministries, you wouldn’t even need two hands to tally them. What we’re talking about are the parents who will actually be present at a typical youth or children’s event. What about all the other parents? Well, like […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: What Happens When Youth Ministers Work With Parents?
John Pond is pastor of students at West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee recently provided some engaging thoughts on the value of youth ministers working with parents. He offers four practical things youth ministers can start doing to communicate and work with parents. He encourages youth ministers to (1) communicate regularly, (2) pray with […]
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Family Ministry: Family Ministry is Not the Answer to Your Church’s Problems
Although the concepts behind family ministry are far from new, church-based family ministry has turned trendy in some circles over the past few years. After decades on the back burner of congregational life, family ministry has suddenly become a hot topic. Type “family ministry” into a search engine, and you computer is likely to crank […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: What Are Faith-Talks and Why Do They Matter?
::WHY FAITH-TALKS?:: The purpose of faith-talks is to restore Christian parents to their God-ordained role as teachers of God’s Word in their children’s lives. Your ministry may choose some term other than faith-talks, of course. “Family devotions” might communicate the point more clearly in your context; somewhere else, you could go with “family faith-training” or […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: Two-Day Intensive Training in Family-Equipping Ministry
Do you have a desire to implement family ministry practices in your church? Are you looking to be trained in the ways of family ministry? Do you have two days to spare? Join me in January on the tree-lined campus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for a training event which will […]
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Family Ministry: The Grover Principle
“Sunny days, sweepin’ the clouds away. On my way to where the air is sweet. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to . . . ?” If that couplet strikes a chord in your memories of childhood, you were probably an avid viewer of the American PBS program known as […]
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Family Ministry: Have You Taken the TIE Test?
Are you effectively training, involving, and equipping the parents in your ministry to be the main faith influencers for their children? Consider how your family ministry events might be more effective using this TIE Test, which simply asks, “How could this activity Train, Involve, or Equip parents as primary faith influencers? How could it Train, […]
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Family Ministry: Family, the Original Small Group Ministry
Parents are the primary teachers in their children’s lives, even if they don’t know it. Some parents are better teachers than others, but every parent is a teacher when it comes to the children with whom he or she shares a home. Even after decades of family fragmentation, the most significant influence on children’s spiritual […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: Stumbling Through Family Faith Talks…for the Glory of God
Sankie Lynch, Pastor of Families at New Beginnings Church in Bixby, Oklahoma asks: Do you ever start out with good intentions with your family and end up frustrated and breathing heavily? What correlations does parenting have with high blood pressure and barely missed strokes? What used to be relaxing, calm vacations have now turned into “Survivor: […]
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Family Ministry: Doing Less So That Parents Can Do More
Most parents in churches do believe, at least on the surface, that their children’s existence will persist past this life. The problem is that this tenet of faith doesn’t always make its way into their daily practices of prioritizing household commitments. Parents mentally accept the fact that their children will exist forever, but they do […]
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Family Ministry: Pornography and the Hijacking of the Male Brain
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, makes this point regarding the phenomenon of nearly-infinite and instantly-accessible pornography: To no one’s surprise, the vast majority of those who consume pornography are males. It is no trade secret that males are highly stimulated by visual images, whether still or video. That […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: Why Not Reward Spiritual Activities?
In a recent blog post Coleman Ford, PhD student at Southern Seminary, asks the question, “Should we reward children and youth for spiritual activities?” He says, Spiritual activities such as reading and memorizing Scripture, prayer, worship and evangelism are the duty (yes, duty) of all followers of Jesus Christ. These activities do not accumulate merit, […]
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Family Ministry: Ten Tips for Discipling Your Children
Justin Buzzard, author of Date Your Wife and lead pastor of Garden City Church in Silicon Valley, recently wrote: “Jesus gave his church one mission: make disciples. As a church planter I’m consumed all day with the work of disciple making, but the most important disciple making in my life happens with my three sons. The mission Jesus […]
[Read More...]Leadership: What You Probably Don’t Know About the Families in Your Church
A while back, I wrote an article for D6 Family entitled “It’s Time to Engage!: Three Facts You Need to Know to Launch an Incredible Family Ministry.” Here’s an excerpt from the article: The animated feature The Incredibles is a favorite movie in our household—and one of our favorite scenes is the family meal early […]
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Family Ministry: A Blessed Necessity for Christian Marriages
Are children necessary in a Christian family? In a recent article Dr. David Schrock, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Seymour, Indiana says, “In truth, the Great Commission must begin with our own families. In Christ, be fruitful and multiply takes on greater significance—we are to make disciples of those outside our families and we are to have […]
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Family Ministry: Adoption–Living in a Story That’s Bigger Than You
In a recent Desiring God blog post, Dan Cruver writes these words: “The eternal Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — existed forever in the communion of love before time began. But when the three Persons of the Trinity created the heavens and the earth, the story of the Trinity broke into human history […]
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Family Ministry: Do You See Who Your Children Really Are?
Believe it or not, your children’s first and foremost identity is not to be your children. Your children were created for a far greater identity—an identity that will last into eternity. Inasmuch as they embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, your children were created to be your brothers and sisters. And so, every child in […]
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Apologetics: What Are the Chances That Jesus’ Body Was Left On the Cross?
:: The Obscenity of the Cross in the Ancient World :: With few exceptions, even the most skeptical scholars admit that Jesus was crucified—and with good reason. Not only Christian authors but also the Roman historian Tacitus mention the crucifixion of Jesus. It’s highly unlikely that first-century Christians would have fabricated such a shameful fate […]
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Apologetics: Why the Acts of Paul and Gospel of Peter Aren’t On Your Schedule for Reading the Bible in a Year
Perhaps you, like many others, are planning to read through the Bible this year. If you do, you’re likely to ask yourself at some point, “Weren’t there other Gospels and letters that didn’t make it into the Bible? Why am I reading these texts instead of those?” So what about those other Gospels? Well, from […]
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