Thursday, May 8, 2014

Doing Church Differently...by Kara Backes, Family Ministry Director


Sarah and I just returned from a conference focused on family ministry.  And a key speaker spoke to us about doing Church differently. We know kids are leaving church - we've heard the statistics – It’s why we chose to do family ministry – It’s why I lose sleep, its why I dream.  So the question is how do we teach our kids in a way that they stay.  We don’t want to show our kids a small God.  I think we even have to fight for tension.   

·         Tension doesn’t water down Truth it amplifies it

·         Works don’t water down Grace they amplify it

·         Compassion doesn’t negate Justice it amplifies it

 

So let’s say YES to tension!

Tensions we want our kids to know about:

1.  We want them to know God - and yet know God is a mystery - that's ok

2. We want them to understand they can be saved, and choose to follow Jesus in an instant and yet it takes a lifetime to even begin to understand what that means

3. The Bible is truth - All true and yet not everything is in the bible – we are not called to just teach bible but to lead kids into a growing relationship with Jesus

4.  Trust leads to stronger faith - Doubt leads to stronger faith too - encourage processing doubt

5.  Enjoy the church - and enjoy living in the world - let's not make our kids choose

6.  Beliefs matter - People matter more – let’s not be jerks

7. God has ideals - we are all broken though - Show GRACE

8. Yes God is good - Yes you should do good in this world - we want to reflect Jesus to the world around us.

 
Will you embrace these tensions with me?

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