Family Discipleship
Churches and ministries often separate the family when it comes to corporate worship and Bible study. I personally believe God's Word and the worship experience is intended for the whole family. The Bible teaches that it is the blessing and responsibility of parents to teach and train their family in the ways of God. However, many parents feel the hardest part is knowing HOW. Timothy Paul Jones writes, "(Family Ministry is) the process of intentionally and persistently coordinating a ministry's proclamation and practices so that parents are acknowledged, trained and held accountable as primary disciple-makers in their children's lives."
Family discipleship may sound intimidating to many parents because most don't have a Bible degree, they may not fully understand the Bible themselves, or they have no idea where to start or how to start. It's ok... Nobody has everything figured out. In fact family discipleship is not a program but more of a journey as the parent, teen, and child all grow TOGETHER in God's Word.
If you are feeling a bit intimidated about starting a family devotional time there are many resources available.
Family discipleship may sound intimidating to many parents because most don't have a Bible degree, they may not fully understand the Bible themselves, or they have no idea where to start or how to start. It's ok... Nobody has everything figured out. In fact family discipleship is not a program but more of a journey as the parent, teen, and child all grow TOGETHER in God's Word.
If you are feeling a bit intimidated about starting a family devotional time there are many resources available.
- One of my personal favorites is The Bible Project. This site is a a great place to go to learn visually about the books of the Bible. Check out the video below for a sample. These videos are family friendly and the artwork and storytelling is excellent.
- I successfully impemented a family ministry at First Presbyteian Church of Bradenton. It was a unique family ministry called Family First . We began out time learning and worshiping together as a family and then broke off into age appropriate small groups. Both parents and children learned the same Bible story together (but at their level). The purpose was for parents and kids to begin and continue their worship at home as they talked about what they learned.
- You can also check out the resources below. They serve as coloring pages and discussion sheets for the family. The artwork was created exclusively for me by a good friend. If you or your children ever color these pictures please take a picture and send them to me as I like to pass them along to the artist... He loves it when his pictures get colored :)
