Family Ministry In Our Church

A Family Ministry Blog Tour has been taking place over the past two months. Over 60 different leaders, all involved in Children's and Family Ministry from many different denominations have been answering the question, 

What Is Family Ministry? 

It's a complex question, with no 'right' answer, because all churches are different, all families are different, and all ministry is different. So what does Family Ministry look like in my church? I could probably write a really complex answer, but to put it simply, our Family Ministry looks like love. We simply try to love every family that comes through our doors, or every family that we meet on the street, no matter what that family looks like. 
For me, Family Ministry is praying for, and with families. Family Ministry is asking families what they need from us. Family Ministry is intergenerational fellowship and fun. Family Ministry is about providing resources and opportunities that will enable families to grow in their knowledge of Christ and advance in their walk with Him. Most of all, Family Ministry is about creating a safe and welcoming environment, where no one is judged, but rather all are loved, because everyone that we meet belongs to God's great big family. 
Family Ministry then, is about serving, befriending, and loving others, no matter what their family looks like. Mom and Dad; Just Mom; Just Dad; Dad and Dad; Mom and Mom- it does not matter. Family Ministry is all about unity- uniting all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, with Jesus as our Head. That's what matters.
I pray for those who will believe in me...that all of them may be one. John 17: 20

Is it Worth it?

So my friends are arriving from England later today. They have probably never seen a hummingbird before...the weather in the British Isles is just not warm enough for these tiny birds to survive. So I have some assessing to do...in order to put my hummingbird feeder up, I firstly have to find it, amongst all the junk in my garage. Then I have to clean it. Then I will have to search on Google to find out how to make the nectar. Next I will have to make the nectar and let it cool in the refrigerator. When that is done and I am finally ready to fill the feeder, I will have to drag the ladder out of the garage and climb it in order to hang the feeder in my front window, because I cannot reach the hook. And so I ask myself...is it worth it? Such a lot of effort for such a little bird. But my friends from England have probably never seen one, and they are good friends. So I somewhat reluctantly begin to look for my feeder.
About one hour later, I am sitting in my front room with my eyes on that swinging feeder and I am waiting....waiting because I tell myself that if I catch sight of just one of those little hummingbirds, then it will all have been worth it. And I so want to tell you that this is what happened. I want to write that all my efforts were rewarded as I witnessed one of those fascinating little fellows feeding from the nectar I so lovingly made. But I can't write that, because that never happened. After all that effort, I never did see a hummingbird coming to my feeder. But suppose one came when I wasn't looking...would it have been worth it then?
In our children's ministry, we are busy preparing for a new season. We pray, we plan, we organize, we recruit, we lead, we encourage, we teach....and despite our best efforts, we may never see that one little child who comes to Christ. Such a lot of effort for such a little child. And so I ask myself...is it worth it? And the answer is... yes.

The Hollow Shoulder

Click on the photo to see
baby Stefan fast asleep.

My dad is 88 years old. Baby Stefan, his newest great grandson, is barely 4 months old. At a recent family gathering, Stefan started to cry. His mom was about to pacify him, when my dad said, 'let me have him.' We all watched as Emma handed her baby to him and my dad gently put him on his shoulder and began to pat his back. Within two minutes, that baby was fast asleep. He felt safe and secure and loved. Baby Stefan was lying in my dad's 'hollow shoulder'...a little refuge from the world, formed over the years from numerous babies that have nestled there, from his own eight children, to his twenty six grandchildren, to his eight great grandchildren. 
We all need a refuge from the world. We all need a safe, secure place, where we feel loved and cherished. God has a hollow shoulder too...a safe place formed over the years by generations of children who have rested there. And there is room for us there too. 
The one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12

Castle Walls...

Click on the photo to see
the name inscribed in 1870

This time last week I spent a wonderful day wandering around the ruins of an ancient English castle. Occupying a commanding position at the head of Portsmouth Harbor, Portchester Castle was originally built in the early 3rd century and now stands as an impressive example of British medieval architecture. As I stood in these ancient ruins and made my way up and down the narrow, winding staircase, I couldn't help but marvel at all the history contained within these walls. In the 1800's the keep was used as a prison where over 3000 men were contained. In an effort to relieve their boredom, the prisoners carved their names in the stone walls, many of which are still legible today. But as I stood reading their names, I knew that the reason for this graffiti had to be far more than an activity to pass the time. In the midst of their captivity, these prisoners must have carved out their names because they wanted someone to remember them. They wanted someone to know that they had been there. They wanted to ensure that their names would not be forgotten.
Isaiah reminds us that God knows our names. In fact, they have already been inscribed...not on stone walls, but on the palm of God's hand. As Christians, we can remind our children that God remembers our names. He knows just where we have been. And we will never, ever be forgotten.
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:16

Olympic Fever

As a British citizen living in the United States, I was anxious to join with millions of viewers from around the globe to watch the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. 
Wow! As I watched over 200 nations parade their flags proudly around the Olympic Stadium, and listened to the cheers of the crowd, I couldn't help but think that I was witnessing all that is good in the world. So often, we get caught up in our differences, but in that Olympic arena, the tremendous diversity of our world was celebrated, and barriers of class were transcended as dignitaries like the Queen witnessed the arrival of the Olympic flame alongside the 500 ordinary construction workers who built the stadium. It was a perfect picture of unity, diversity, celebration, and equality in God's world. It made me proud to be British.  
Unity was important to Jesus...so important that it was the subject of His final prayer in John 17. Jesus' earnest plea to His father was that all of us may be one.
As Christians, we are called to transcend barriers of race and class, to celebrate diversity alongside our brothers and sisters, so that all of us may be one.
As I watch the Olympic games this week, I will be reminded of the awesome privilege I have to be called to celebrate diversity, to work to bring unity, to be a voice that pleads for equality for all our children, and to build God's kingdom in His amazing world. I'm not just proud to be British...I'm proud to be a Christian. 
Read Jesus' Prayer For Unity

Good Reason to be Depressed?

If you are involved in ministry within the United Methodist Church, you may have good reason to be depressed. It seems that everywhere we turn, there is someone waiting to remind us about the dwindling numbers in our denomination. It is true. Statistics show that membership in our churches is declining, and there are various initiatives being explored to help us reverse that trend.
But I don't think Jesus read statistics. Jesus read hearts and minds. Jesus may have attracted the crowds, and filled the fields to capacity, but His focus was always on the individual. Friends...there is power in focusing on the individual. Ask Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night, and undoubtedly returned to witness to the Sanhedrin. Ask the woman at the well, who was so moved after her encounter with Jesus that she told her entire village about Him. Ask Zacchaeus, whose transformed life after having spent time with Jesus was a far more powerful witness in his community than any words could ever have been.
So if you are ministering in a small church; if you are the teacher to that one lone child; if you serve in your church nursery with that one single baby on your lap...take heart! We who are called United Methodists still seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world...and this usually begins with the transformation of one.
Yes, there is work to be done in our denomination, but far better to significantly impact the heart and mind of one, than to attract one hundred who do not hear the message. The individual was important to Jesus. And if that was good enough for Him, then it's good enough for me.
Read this interesting article from Jim Winkler, on 'Lies & Statistics'

Five Little Words...

It was the summer of 1970. I was 11 years old. The bell clanged for the final time and two minutes later, the doors flew open. Laughing, shouting children poured out onto the playground. It was our last day in that little red brick building. In September, we would all be attending High school. My friends and I cheered, and hugged. We cried, and said our goodbyes. But before I ran to catch the bus, a teacher was standing, waiting for me.
Glenys, she said, Don't ever stop writing. 
I do not remember how I replied. I do not remember that teacher's name. I do not really remember what she looked like. But I do remember her words....just five little words, planted like seeds in my heart, that over the years, God would cause to grow.
There are no qualifications needed to be an encourager. We do not need to attend classes. We do not need to study. We do not need to learn how to do it. We just need to speak.
You and I have the enormous privilege, and the enormous power to encourage the children in our lives, to sow seeds in their hearts, which God will cause to grow. And all it takes is our words.
Encourage one another, and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11