fAMily Ministries - CrossRoads Church

Early Childhood MinistryPastor Nicole Thibeau (NicoleT@CrossRoadsChurch.ca)Anna Halliwell (AnnaH@CrossRoadsChurch.ca) Marcia Bowler (MarciaB@CrossRoadsChurch.ca)on your children. Talk about them when you sit athome and when you walk along the road, when youlie down and when you get up.” The context in whichthe word “impress” is used has become extremelyimportant to me and vital to the ministry vision. Itis defined as “to have a strong, lasting, favourableeffect on”. When we apply this to the context of thefamily, it should read, the family unit (however it maybe comprised) will have “a strong, lasting, favourableeffect on our children” in a way that teaches them to“love the Lord our God with all their heart and with alltheir soul and with all their strength”.How do we help and inspire parents to do this? Wewant to encourage, support and raise up a generationof parents who desire and understand what it meansto be the spiritual leaders of their home. Whathappens in the home is what sticks – what most kidswill remember. Moses in this passage in Deuteronomyspecifically lists the opportunities parents have toimpress this message on their children: mealtime,drive time, bedtime and morning time. We oftentalk about building a foundation for our kids at thisage – that what they learn now is foundational toeverything they will do in the future. And we wantthis foundation to be created, formed and cementedin the home. It is our desire to help equip you asparents so you are ready to take advantage of everyopportunity that comes your way during mealtime,drive time, bedtime and morning time.Faith at HomeWe want to encourage parents to live out an authenticrelationship with Jesus, one that is real and lived outevery day of the week before their children’s eyes.There is a quote that I once read that has stuck withme. It said that we never have to buy into the myththat we have to become the “right” kind of parentbefore God can use us in our children’s lives. Rather,we should learn to cooperate with whatever Goddesires to do in our heart today, so our children willhave a front-row seat to the grace and goodness ofGod. Doing life with our children in a real and honestway allows them to experience God in a sincere way.We want parents to be very intentional with bringingfaith into their home.Here are some examples of how we are hoping toencourage parents to do this at home. We would liketo see parents introduce the lesson of the week athome first, before their child hears about it at church.It’s important to us that our kids see the church asbeing supportive and complimentary to what dadand mom are saying at home. We want our kids tosay, “Hey, my parents told me all about Daniel beingthrown into the lion’s den and how God protectedhim, because Daniel was a man who loved God verymuch and prayed every day.” Then together as afamily, they tried popcorn prayer this week and usedtheir prayer flip chart every night at supper to pray.We’d love to hear a little boy share about how his dadtaught him how to pray in every situation – becauseduring their bedtime prayer routine, dad shared hisheart on how he struggled with being angry at workthat day. We’d love to hear how mom taught herchildren how to pray while they were driving aroundthe city – because when they saw an ambulance goby with its lights on, they pulled over and prayedfor the person in need. God gives us hundreds ofopportunities to teach our children what it means tohave a relationship with Him. We want to encourageconscious parenting, where parents are aware and areactually seeking out these opportunities so that theirchildren will have a “front-row seat to the grace andgoodness of God”. We want parents to feel equippedand prepared to capitalize on these opportunities asthey arise. This is what faith at home can be!Parents, I hope that something listed above hasresonated deep within you! It is my prayer that eachone of us will seriously take up this challenge topartner with the church, to be the spiritual leaders inour child’s life, and to bring faith into our home. As wedo this together, we’ll see God raise up a generationof children who love Him more deeply, who seekHim more intimately, and who put their completetrust in Him. Joe and I are excited, we’re eager, andwe’re inspired to be a part of this great mission… howabout you?Needed: Infant CareRe-Stocking TeamWe are currently looking for four people tocome on board with a four-week rotationschedule to help re-stock infant care. You pickthe day of the week that works best for you!Looking for highly organized, committedindividuals who have an eyefor detail! If you are interestedin helping out, please emailNicoleT@CrossRoadsChurch.ca orcall 403.967.2508.Page 18THE CROSSING || October 2012 || www.CrossRoadsChurch.ca