Family Ministries Events
Family Ministries sponsors the following events:
- Pastor and Spouse Retreat - May 20-22, 2011(biennial)
- Family Camp Family Day - July 24, 2011
- Family Emphasis Day - September 11, 2011
Family Ministries Monthly Challenges
The Family Ministries Department has issued a challenge to families for 2011. Each month a new challenge will be posted on the Family Ministries Events page for you to discuss and implement in your homes.
- JANUARY: The "Monthly Family Challenge" for January is "Family Resolution Night". During the "Family Resolution Night", we encourage families to spend time discussing together goals and resolutions they would like to set as a family for 2011. This would be a good time to talk together about spiritual, financial, social, educational, etc. goals, hopes and ambitions for the year ahead. Allow each member of the family to share what they would like to accomplish over the next 12 months and how each family member can work together to help each one achieve their personal goals as well as overall family resolutions. Happy New Year!
- FEBRUARY: The "Monthly Family Challenge" for February is "The 10 Most Wanted List". Sometime during the month of February, we challenge families to grab a pen and a pad of paper, gather together and create your "Ten Most Wanted" List. On the top of your paper write the title "The (Your Family's Name) Ten Most Wanted List". Begin sharing names and compile a list of 10 loved ones, family and friends who don't know Jesus as their Saviour. After writing down the names, pray that these loved ones will discover how much God loves them and receive the gift of His Son. Place this list in a prominent place in your house where your family will be reminded to pray for these people. Be prepared to see how God can use you to share your faith. Be ready to check the names off as these loved ones join the family of God. (NOTE: You do not have to be confined to just 10!!!
- MARCH: The "Monthly Family Challenge" for March is "SIGN Language". This is a challenge for families to do something nice for someone else. For this challenge, you will need poster boards, a pack of markers or paint, and a creative mind. Gather the family together and think about people in your neighbourhood that you would like to send an encouraging message to. (This message can be a birthday wish, congratulations, "thank you for being a good neighbour", anything you can think of). Using your poster boards and supplies, create signs that communicate the message you wish to send. Once the signs are made, have your family sneak out at night, pile in the car with the posters, travel to the home of the people you wish to encourage and quietly place the signs in their front yard where they will be visible to them in the morning. It's a successful night if your family can accomplish the task undetected and unseen. ( "Family Challenge" ideas taken from the book "Hands On Faith, Family Nights" written by Janet Lynn Mitchell, Carson- Dellosa Christian Publishing Greensboro, North Carolina 2005)
- APRIL: Need a break from the dull routine? April weather can be somewhat dreary in NL... so for fun, why not have a backwards day with your family? Do everything backwards for the day. This can include wearing your clothing backwards, your meals, change your daily routine. A fun idea is to write the kids a note backwards. Oh, and don't forget to eat dessert first... maybe an upside down cake?
- MAY: May is a time of rebirth, and refreshing greenery is sprouting everywhere. Sometime during this month, plant a tree. Your kids will admire you for your appreciation for the natural environment. Make it a teachable moment, and share your story of spiritual rebirth with them. It's a great way to pass on a healthy legacy. The planting of the tree and how it takes root is very similar to us in our spiritual journey ... how we take root in God's Word to grow and become mature believers who can stand against the storms that come our way. Children love a story, and there is no better story than the true story of God's faithfulness in our lives!
- JUNE: Food and families just seem to go together. Why not have a Progressive Dinner? We sometimes try this with the whole church but why not ask just three other families with children of similar ages to get involved in this event? This takes very little organization. The meal involves traveling from house to house and enjoying a different course at each house. You simply need to find the willing participants, set the date, decide who wants to host the appetizers, main meal and dessert and go from there. It will be a fun evening for all involved.
- JULY/AUGUST: Summer is the perfect time to spend outdoors. Choose a night when the sky is bright and filled with stars. Take the children outside and look at the heavens. See how many different constellations you can find. The night sky is constantly changing. A sky chart is included in every issue of Astronomy magazine which is available through your public library or online. Try to obtain a copy. This is a great time to talk about the magnificence of creation. Your family will probably stand in awe of what they are seeing.
- SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER: Bridge the Generation Gap - This year, September 11 is deemed official Grandparents Day in Canada, but any day can be Grandparents Day. Children and grandparents are a winning combination. After reading the story of Timothy and his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5) have a conversation around the joy of having grandparents in your lives. Why not invite your grandparents for a visit and give them an opportunity to share on video some of the fun times they had as children? This project can be enlarged over time to include a chat about how they celebrated holidays, what school was like, the changes they have seen, family life, etc. This will be a wonderful memento to have for that time when your grandparents are no longer present or able to tell their story. For those of you who do not have grandparents living nearby, why not adopt some? There are many lonely people in our churches and neighbourhoods who would love to have a cup of tea and a cookie over some light conversation. Why not ask God who He would have you befriend? Perhaps as a family you could brainstorm and think of other ways to encourage them and show them the love of God—helping with yard work, offering to read to them, delivering a meal or Christmas baking—the possibilities are as endless as your imagination!
- NOVEMBER/DECEMBER: Read by Candlelight - Reading aloud is a wonderful family activity because children of all ages love being read to. Don’t stop when they are able to read by themselves, but choose chapter books that you all can enjoy. There are many wonderful books out there for this time of year. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is a great example. I read this book to my youngest child every year from the fourth grade to senior high. It was a special time. Choose an edition that has lovely illustrations; Roberto Innocenti’s edition is one of the best and is probably available from your public library. Set aside 30 minutes a night and enjoy. Be ready to engage in conversation concerning how times have changed but the message of Christmas remains the same.
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