HEALTHY FAMILIES FOR ETERNITY

What is
a Family?
APPENDIX A - FAMILY MINISTRIES IMPLEMENTATION
One of the tasks of a family ministries leader
is to define the families to whom they minister
within their congregations. A ministry only to
married couples with children, for example, will
benefit only a small percentage of the people in the
church. Families of all sorts may need guidance
as they move toward healthy relationships. The
work of coping with the daily tasks of sharing a
household and managing conflict is never easy
when people share space and resources or come
from homes with differing values. Here are some
of the ways families today are configured.
• Families are nuclear – with Mom, Dad and
children who were born to this Mom and Dad.
• Families are stepfamilies – sometimes called
blended. Stepfamilies are formed when
parents divorce or are widowed and remarry.
Some become stepfamilies when an unmarried
parent marries someone not the father/mother
of his/her child.
• Families are single – sometimes just me and
the cat – living alone. They may be divorced,
widowed or never married, but the household
is a separate entity. Some singles may live with
other singles in one household.
• Families are single parent – This may occur
when a parent is divorced or widowed and has
not remarried, or is a parent who has never
married.
• Families are empty nest families – Mom and
Dad when the kids leave home.
• Families are re-attached – When adult children
come back to live with Mom and Dad –
usually a temporary arrangement. A family
is re-attached when an older parent lives with
the family of a son or daughter or grandchild.
• Families are a part of the family of God. Many
consider members in their congregation as
family and may feel closer ties to them than
those related by birth or marriage.
Beyond the usual family demographics one
can also stimulate people to think about their
important relationships, including those in the
church family, by posing questions like these:
• If an earthquake destroyed your town, who
would you be most desperate to locate to be
sure they were okay?
• If you were moving a thousand miles away,
who would move with you?
Who would be the ones you’d stay in touch with,
however difficult it might be?
• If you developed a long-term illness, who
could you count on to take care of you?
• Who will be your family from now until you
or they die?
• From whom could you borrow money and
not feel like you had to pay it back right away?
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Reprinted from Family Ministries Handbook: The complete how-to guide for local church leaders. (2003).
Lincoln, NE: AdventSource. Used with permission
WHAT IS A FAMILY?