I knew that I had the only shot in that kids’ week to tell them about Jesus! My one hour in our children’s church had to be a jam-packed, not-one-word-wasted, hour of God’s Word. And we did our best to make it so.
And at one level, for some families, I was kinda right. There were many families that did not mention God all week long and only brought their kids to church on Sunday because (fill in the blank) they had to/we live in the South/their mom was there/free coffee.
Now that I’m older, of course, I know that there were many families there (and at churches all around the world) that are using every ounce of their life to pour God’s Word into their kids’ lives. And I wish (as a young mom and young pastor) that I could have somehow connected with those people, harnessed that passion and started a real FAMILY MINISTRY at our church.
Not a church that ministered to all aspects of a family in the same way we have pediatrics, general care and geriatrics. But a church who’s goal was to minister to and strengthen an entire family! To interweave ministry between all the generations.
As a parent, I want to be in that kind of church. I want the church to help me with my disobedient kids, my misconceptions about being a mom and how I live out a godly lifestyle in front of my kids. I want older godly adults leading me and mentoring me through the different seasons of my life.
I’m good at following directions. I love hanging out with my kids and my husband. If someone at my church would show me how to make the most of my time with them, I’d do it! If my church came along side me to help me lead my kids to Jesus, I’d do whatever they suggested!
I think a church that has a true, thriving Family Ministry is one that takes a page from Deuteronomy 6 (and this blog’s namesake) and immediately after teaching God’s Word to the general public gives specific instructions for impressing it on children’s hearts…
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.“
Here are some good family ministry examples I’ve seen or heard about:
Baby Dedication (Yes, this is Asa’s dedication. I know I’ve linked to it about 20 times but it was so great.)
Small Group Leader/Parent Luncheons (Imagine sitting at a table with your kids’ small group leader or Sunday School teacher along with all the other parents. Talk about partnering together and getting the inside scoop on your kid!)
Parent Cue iPhone App (Yup. There’s an app for that.)
Preschool Grandmothers/Grandfathers (Making sure every preschool class has a godly elderly grandparent serving–and what a witness to the other volunteers, too!)
Family Small Groups (Instead of the kids sitting upstairs while the parents pour over the Word, kids and parents do a family-devotion together. Basically teaching them how to do it on their own at home!)
How does your church do family ministry?
This post is part of a HUGE blog hop hosted by my Children’s Pastor friend, Matt Norman. He’s asked the question, “What is Family Ministry?” to Youth Pastors, Senior Pastors, Children’s Pastors and more! Read all the fabulous FamMin Blog Tour posts!
Mandi says
Our church doesn’t have a midweek service. Instead, they have something called Generations, which is for the whole family. We do worship, the children’s pastor does a message, then we break up by family and talk about the message with our kids, and then we do group activities. And there are take home activities and memory verses for the week. It’s a pretty cool model!
ohAmanda says
I love this, Mandi! I think it’s a great model, too!
a
Sheri says
yeah, I struggle with the whole family segregation thing. I love our church and the people, but often kids are a commodity to drop off with those who can take charge. Especially at our family church camp out, again the kids were separated out… family camp should have a family service imho… I guess it is time to put in my 2 cents worth. =) great post btw!
~Sheri
Matt Norman says
Amanda, thanks for sharing your thoughts as part of the Family Ministry Blog Tour. I love your perspective as someone who used to do children’s ministry and now look at it as a mom. It’s great to have both perspectives come together the way they have in your post.
I encourage your readers to check out all the posts on the Family Ministry Blog Tour page on my blog, http://www.itspastormatt.com
Matt N.
Karla says
Our church does a family VBS called FAM JAM where kids do not get dropped off, but the parents stay with the children and they do VBS together. It is so awesome seeing families worship, memorized scripture, and just have fun together. This is our second year of doing FAM JAM and the families look so forward to it!