Answer

Family in Ministry

The word “Family” is one of the oldest and most basic forms of a functioning relationship. Nevertheless, in the modern world, families are experiencing hiccups that tend to tear down the basic principles of social order. This fact cannot be assumed since all aspects of humanity can be derived from and determined by a family. As a Christian family, it is our sole duty to ensure that every family in the community co-exist peacefully. By exhibiting the characteristics of a holy family, we believe that others could relate and aspire to emulate them in their respective surroundings. To ensure that this message is widely shared, my family has organized an outreach ministry plan that we consider effective in building families.

Family in Ministry Vision Statement

As a women’s Pastor, my husband will serve alongside me in serving God, each other, our family, church, and community as we were commissioned to do.

This year’s vision will be put to action through a different curriculum, including titivating the children’s worship plan to be age-oriented. Respectively, this year’s vision will be determined by evaluation as well as continued implementation of momentous and spiritual development opportunities for young families.[1] The Family ministry will seek to amalgamate the priorities encouraged in the Bible to establish

Worship/Spiritual Formation

According to Proverbs, 22:6 parents are given the privileges and responsibilities to help children develop good characters that would help them in later days.[2] The main concept in this verse is that God aspires his beings to develop in an upright manner. However, this admirable train can only be developed at an early stage of life.[3] Educating children to develop good morals at an early stage can be achieved by teaching them spiritual songs that can aid them to know God better, love him more, and draw closer to him.

Many parents bring their children to church while they are still young. With the proposed ministry plan, children will be able to socialize as well as worship with others by learning how to sing and praise God. The same exercise could be achieved at home. Studies indicate that babies in the womb can respond to music as early as four months.[4] The implications of the research are enormous. Potentially, parents can pre-dispose their kids towards God and all things related to God through singing as well as playing spiritual music to them prior to their conception. Scripture suggests that in-utero babies are relatively aware of as well as sensitive to those occurrences around their surroundings. For instance, John the Baptist recognized the voice of his aunt, Mary (the mother of Jesus) while still in Elizabeth’s (her mother’s) womb.[5]

The effect of music on a child’s life is rather powerful. Usually, you would hear people at the church sharing how the simple songs of God they learned while growing up significantly impacted them in their adult life. Many have shared how they came to know Christ at an early age and how it developed as a result of a seed planted by one’s favorite song. Similarly, others have uttered how they have deviated from God’s faith and ended up in dark places, but later found their track by simply remembering the theological concepts found in a children’s song such as Jesus Loves Me This I know.  Respectively families that have been observing, have kept the faith have been able to live harmoniously.

Implementation

As a family, we will be hosting a Children’s Sabbath during Worship time and the children will be allowed to lead the worship. More than 20 children will be selected to lead the worship and song service. This initiative will be used to help children learn the basic principles of Christianity and why their presence is essential in the church.[6] Respectively, there will be a children ministry leader whose role will be training and coordinating children through the service. This figure will be essential in teaching children how to be effective leaders in Christ’s mission. On the same note, young parents will be taught how to enhance these cognitive skills in their children. This will be achieved by assigning teachers and giving them resources that parents will be using at home with their children such as storybook bibles and hymnbook songs.

Fellowship

Fellowship is an integral part of a Christian’s faith. The act of coming together to support each other is an experience that allows people to learn, attain strength and express the love of God to the World. Congregating in the name of God is an act that expresses God’s grace to the world. The basic concept that people have to learn is that no individual is perfect and that all of us do sin.[7] Regardless, all of us have to conceptualize that we have a purpose and an objective to fulfill here on earth by showing different aspects of God in our surroundings. All of us have been given distinct spiritual gifts. By coming together in fellowship, people will be able to express their abilities and help one another through their difficulties.

The essence of fellowship will be to help families realize their weaknesses, share them and get help from willing Christians. No matter where every individual is in terms of their faith, the fellowship will always establish a strong bond between individuals and disseminate an urgency of helping those in need. Many young families are experiencing challenges that tend to break the union that brought the apparent parties together.[8] As a result, many whose families are broken tend to feel lonely and would easily resort to ungodly traits as a way of assuming their depressive state. However, with fellowship, such individuals will learn the essence of coming together and sharing their grievances. Bring around other believers will give the affected family members the chance to learn how to resolve their issues and grow in faith. Fellowship will demonstrate to them, why they should believe in God.

Application

As the head of our family, my husband will be responsible to evangelize the importance of fellowship and remind each individual that it is only God who brings us together and makes us strong. My husband will be holding at least three family socials at the church for community building amongst young families and children.[9] In line with this, our family will be hosting quarterly festivals on family life. The intergenerational event will be open to the entire community but our goal is to ensure that at least 50 children and 30 families will be in attendance.

All activities linked to the children’s programs will be coordinated by volunteers. Their main role will be emphasizing learning different bible stories, especially related to families that had issues but resolved them after accepting God back in their lives. This analogy will be derived from the first family that God blessed after his creation. By using the story of Adam and Eve, with the perspective of the fall of man, the participants will learn how the devil has been responsible for breaking families and how God has intervened to reinstate the initial love.[10]

The main attribute that every family ought to understand in this program is that we all have bad moments. Be it the loss of loved ones, money problems, failed exams, or even a challenge of faith, people experiencing these events tend to be demoralized. If such individuals are allowed to down on their sorrows, they can become depressed and develop feelings of disillusionment with God.[11] Regardless, these low moments are why fellowships are essential. Spending time with other believers will lift the spirits of those who are physically, spiritually, and emotionally affected. The fellowship program will help Christian families to keep their focus on God. In like manner, God will act through every individual and provide them with what they need during the dark times. All in all, coming together with others can help in the individual healing process and encourage all to move forward in one accord.

Service

Confusion, frustration, and spiritual defeat often affect Christian families who try to balance home ministry and church ministry. Many tend to get confused on whether this is God’s intentions or His will embedded in both areas of ministry. Nonetheless, scholars have been able to establish that both fuel each other and that both are fulfilling and rewarding. The home ministry is a God-given talent that both husbands and wives have to love each other to express God’s love in society.[12] If parents would observe this aspect, they will effectively love and raise their children with the same spirit of truth, honesty, and justice.

According to the bible, each individual is encouraged to invest in their spouses as well as children by nurturing them in a way that will enable each individual in the family to develop intellectually, relationally, physically, and spiritually (Psalms 78:2-7). This teaching requires parents to maintain an intimate relationship with each other by spending considerable time with one other. God not only utters about the role of spouses in the family but is likewise clear that part of praising him includes serving him in the church through the resources that He has blessed every individual with such as money, time, and spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:1,11,12).[13] What each individual ought to realize is that God has given human beings a considerable amount of time to dwell in their daily activities. However, within this time, God also requires people to exclude some moments which could be used to serve Him in mind, body, and spirit. Relatively, God promises that the time that each person will dedicate to support His work will be highly rewarded.

Application

Under service, my husband and I will be hosting at least two parent’s day/night outs every month for three hours (every session) whereby we will be teaching the participants how to serve God and their families. The mission will be propagated by engaging projects that will enable spouses to know the essence of serving God and how they can help their children to grow with the same spirit.[14] We will also invite speakers who will provide tangible resources for parenting and continued spiritual education at home.

In conclusion out family ministry plan will be established under three pillars: worship, fellowship, and service. These three entities will be used to train spouses how to leave with each other in harmony to express the traits of God. In like manner, these three entities will enable young families to learn how to groom their children in a Godly manner so that when they become adults, they would easily utilize the acquired characterizing in building functional families as well as communities.

[1] Kent, Stephen A. “8. Brainwashing Programs in The Family/Children of God and Scientology.” In Misunderstanding cults, pp. 349-378. University of Toronto Press, 2016.

[2] Bible, King James. King james bible. Proquest LLC, 1996.

[3] Volf, Miroslav. “Worship as adoration and action: reflections on a Christian way of being-in-the world.” (2017).

[4] Ibid

[5] Bible, King James. King james bible. Proquest LLC, 1996.

[6] Volf, Miroslav. “Worship as adoration and action: reflections on a Christian way of being-in-the world.” (2017)

[7] Marks, Loren D., and David C. Dollahite. Religion and families: An introduction. Taylor & Francis, 2016

[8] Ibid

[9] Ibid 68

[10] Bible, King James. King james bible. Proquest LLC, 1996

[11] Marks, Loren D., and David C. Dollahite. Religion and families: An introduction. Taylor & Francis, 2016

[12] Vuorenmaa, M., M‐L. Perälä, N. Halme, M. Kaunonen, and P. Åstedt‐Kurki. “Associations between family characteristics and parental empowerment in the family, family service situations and the family service system.” Child: care, health and development 42, no. 1 (2016): 25-35.

[13] Bible, King James. King james bible. Proquest LLC, 1996

[14] Vuorenmaa, M., M‐L. Perälä, N. Halme, M. Kaunonen, and P. Åstedt‐Kurki. “Associations between family characteristics and parental empowerment in the family, family service situations and the family service system.” Child: care, health and development 42, no. 1 (2016): 25-35.