Monthly Archives: February 2014

Partners in Spiritual Nurture

Bringing your family to the cross of Christ
Bringing your family to the cross of Christ

Deuteronomy 6:6-7  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

The above text is  the classic biblical passage that lays out for parents their biblical calling. We, as parents, are first to make sure the Word of God is in our hearts. As they say, “it is impossible to impart what you do not possess”. If God’s Word is not central to who you are as a parent, it is not likely you will be able to pass it on to your child(ren). Having said that, the passage then calls us to “diligently” teach our children. That word “diligently” should encourage us not to be haphazard in our approach but rather seek to be intentional.

And how can we be intentional? Often when we think about this we may steer toward something like family devotions thinking that this is the only way to be intentional. But I love the fact that the passage encourages us not to think first about a devotional time period each day, but rather thinking of all of life as a place to be intentionally teaching our children. In fact, my observation over the years is that if we are not capturing the everyday moments for Christ, our devotional times may ring untrue to our children. So I want to encourage all parents to live out your calling in the mundane details of life. (So many of the books I read on Family Devotions never make this important point!) Then, having a time of family worship can be all the more effective.

Teach them diligently
Teach them diligently

Though parents are the primary nurturers of their children, I believe God has so designed the church to be a partner in this vital enterprise. God has showered His family with a variety of gifts which are meant to build up all the members of the church, including its children. If parents isolate their children from the church family they may be, in effect, impoverishing their children’s spiritual development. That’s why I seek to promote a partnership between the home and church.

On our Children’s Ministry website we have a page that addresses that very theme: Home and Church. Please take time to read through the brief explanation. Then look at  the “Recommended Resources” link found on the Parent Resources page to find some suggestions that will help you forge a plan as to how your family might approach intentionally nurturing the faith of your children. A recent book by Jason Helopoulos, A Neglected Grace, may be of some help as you consider the more formal part of your calling (Family Devotions).

If you have some ideas or resources to share with others regarding this important topic, please use the comments section below to do so.

Serving the next generations with you,

Pastor Ron

Welcome Parents and Teachers

In this inaugural post I wanted to introduce you to our new website (camelbackkids.com) for parents and children’s ministry volunteers.

As many of you know I am in my second round at CBC as Children’s Pastor. I served for 18 years from 1989-2007, then took a 6 year interim working with adults and the administration of the church. This past summer I was asked to return to Children’s Ministry; a calling I gladly received because of an unabated passion to see children growing up to know the Lord Jesus.

As I approach this next round of ministry I want to continue to see our body provide excellent ministry to our children on Sundays and midweek, as well as special events like retreats and VBS. These I believe can be used of God to lay important foundations of faith in each child’s life. But this time around I want to focus even more on supporting the ministry of parents in the home. After all, parents really are the primary spiritual educators in their children’s lives.

That is what this website and blog are all about. I want to provide for parents all the resources and help I can to help them fulfill the high calling God has given to them (Deuteronomy 6:1-11). In recent conversations with some of our young dads this kind of help and encouragement was expressed as something much needed. So…in this post I want to introduce you to a few of the items you will find in this website that are designed to help you as a parent as well as a volunteer in Children’s Ministry.

In the parent section of the site you will find the following sub-sections:

  1. How to get involved in Children’s Ministry (and why it is important)
  2. Home and Church partnership – information on how to maximize your children’s learning he/she receives in church ministry.
  3. A few links to websites especially helpful for parents. Look for this section to grow in the future.
  4. The parent resource sub-section provides a reading list for parents, some counsel regarding children and worship,  prayer cards and more. This section will be growing in the future as well. In fact, as you have suggestions please pass them on.
  5. Upcoming events to put on your calendar

In the volunteer section you will find the following sub-sections:

  1. Specifics on how to get plugged in as a Children’s Ministry Champion
  2. A listing of staff needs
  3. Staff schedule so we can check when we are serving or know who will be ministering to our children.
  4. Key ministry contacts – the people to call if you have specific questions about a ministry or age group
  5. Teacher resources including a recommended reading list, Child SAFE training video, curriculum and staff manuals and more.
  6. Upcoming events to put on your calendar

Why don’t you take a few minutes and peruse the site. Know that this is just the beginning and as we work together I know that we can create a tool that will be a blessing to parents and consequently to our children.

It is a joy serving your families for the cause of Jesus Christ

Pastor Ron