Take
a few moments to envision some of the families in your congregation.
One family may have many members, while another has few. One
may be active in church life, attending events whenever able,
while another comes for worship occasionally but does not frequent
other activities. Now that you have some images in your mind,
think about these families as small groups.
The New Testament gives us many examples of life and ministry
in small groups. The first Christians engaged in faith practices
together—prayer, Bible study, sharing meals, and serving
others in need. Keeping this in mind, the families that you
have pictured, and many more that you haven’t, can genuinely
participate in small-group ministry together.
Now, think of these families living together in small-group
ministry. What would it look like? What would be different about
family life? There would be intentionality: time spent together
for the purpose of being a family. There would be face-to-face
time: building relationships by being present with one another.
There would be leadership: parents feeling confidence to pass
on faith and children growing in leadership. There would be
a regular time schedule: structured and spontaneous rituals
and faith practices. There would be discovery and growth in
the Christian life: a sacred space where Christian formation
takes place.
With tools and support from the congregation, families living
as a small-group ministry might:
- Post a picture from a magazine or newspaper on the family’s
bulletin board that invites reflection. As they check the
calendar, school menu, or look for coupons, they stop for
a moment to engage in prayer for the event or person pictured.
- Spend time during the bedtime ritual to engage in the practice
of examen, recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit throughout
the past day. This could be done by sharing high and low points
of the day and joining in prayer.
- Keep an offering box from one of the PC(USA)’s Special
Offerings in the glove compartment of the car and drop in
change from the drive–through as they pull away. They
could talk about their gift of food and giving to others in
need.
- Celebrate the anniversary of each family member’s
baptism date by sharing memories and photographs.
- Create a family time capsule in which each family member
places small items that remind her/him of special moments.
This provides a time of family sharing as the capsule is revealed.
- Through participation in the faith community of the congregation,
families living as a small-group ministry gain tools and resources
they bring into their homes. But it doesn’t need to
be imaginary!
Your congregation can assist families in this important ministry
through the purchase and use of a new resource available through
PC(USA) Family Ministry. For Your Children: Creating Communities
of Faith in Our Families is available for sale in print, but
comes with a CD-ROM containing much of the printed text. Within
this resource, church leaders are provided with a workshop format
to introduce the theological concepts, designs for families
to meet in groups, and a plethora of rituals, prayer ideas,
recommended books, and cards for conversation starters.
Order For Your Children: Creating Communities of Faith in
Our Families by calling (800) 524-2612, 70-270-05-033. |
