Family Ministries
We value families and appreciate the intent parents have in raising their kids to develop a faith in Christ.
We are growing! Please come join us for Sunday School on Sundays and don't forget to come to our June 3rd Free Community Fun Day.
Stay tuned for youth activities - Save the date. Week of August 21st - Tennis Camp.
Family Activities
We encourage you to take some time this week to read it together, and discuss the follow up questions. If you don’t have a Bible that you can all understand, please let us know and we’ll provide one for your family.
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Connect as a family
One evening, after dinner, bring your family together and read Acts 8:26–40. Verse 29 tells us “the Spirit told Philip.” Share with your children that the Holy Spirit also speaks to us in the natural moments of our everyday lives. Ask your children if they’ve ever felt led or nudged by the Holy Spirit. Then share a time in your life when you felt God’s Spirit leading you. Explain to your children that they can ask God to lead them through His Spirit, who uni es us as members of God’s family.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
• What did God’s Spirit tell Philip to do, and how did Philip respond?
• How have you seen God’s Spirit bring people together in your faith community?
• What do you enjoy doing with your faith community?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God’s Spirit unifies into your everyday life as a family.
BLESSING
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child:
(Child’s name), may you know the unity that comes from God’s Spirit. May you carry God’s message of hope and salvation to the ends of the earth.
Connect as a family
One morning, gather everyone in the kitchen and give each person one or two ingredients for your favorite pancake recipe. Build excitement for making the pancakes together. Then tell them they can’t mix the ingredients together! Ask them how they might make the pancakes without combining ingredients. After a brief discussion, set the ingredients aside and read Acts 10:1–38. Share with your children that before Jesus came, Jewish people couldn’t eat certain foods, and some Jews decided they shouldn’t have any contact with Gentiles (non-Jews). Discuss what God told Cornelius and Peter. God’s Spirit brought unity—He brought Gentiles and Jews together! After your discussion, “unite” the pancake ingredients and make breakfast together.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
• How did the Holy Spirit speak to Peter and Cornelius?
• How did God’s Spirit bring people together through Peter and Cornelius?
• How can we hear God’s Spirit in our own lives?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God’s Spirit unifies into your everyday life as a family.
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child:
(Child’s name), may you experience the unity God’s Spirit brings. May you share God’s love with those who are different from you and invite others to be a part of God’s faith community.
Connect as a family
Gather your family before bedtime and read Acts 12:1–19. Ask your children how God answered the people’s prayers. Have each person share how he might have felt if he’d been Peter and an angel had set him free. Invite each family member to share a prayer request. Remember, nothing is too dif cult for God! He always hears our prayers and answers them. He may not answer in the way we think He should, and He may not answer right away, but He does answer. After your discussion, take some time to practice the posture of kneeling in prayer as you bring your requests to God.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
• How did God answer the prayers of His people?
• What was Peter’s response to his miraculous release from prison?
• How have you seen God answer prayer in your own life?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God answers prayer into your everyday life as a family.
BLESSING
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child:
(Child’s name), may you take every worry and every situation in your life to God. May you know that He listens to your prayers and answers you.
Connect as a family
Take some time to look at a map of Paul’s missionary journeys (check out the Internet or the back of a Bible). Then read Acts 16:6–15. Discuss Paul’s travels in this passage and the way God spoke to him and led him. God loves to speak to His children. He can speak to us too! Share with your children a time when God spoke to you and how you responded. Talk with your children about listening for God’s voice and how we can submit to what He asks us to do.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
• How did God speak to Paul?
• What did God call Paul and his companions to do?
• What are some ways God speaks to us today?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God speaks into your everyday life as a family.
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child:
(Child’s name), may you hear God when He speaks to you, and may you respond in obedience. May you walk in His ways this week.
Connect as a family
One day this week, set up a simple tent—maybe a pop-up tent in your backyard or a blanket fort in your living room. Gather everyone inside and share some snacks as you remember and celebrate God’s blessings. The Israelites remembered God’s blessings when they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. Read Deuteronomy 16:13–15. Talk together about the importance of taking time to remember and celebrate all God has done and continues to do. End your time by thanking God for all the ways He’s blessed your family.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
• What did God’s people celebrate at the Feast of Tabernacles?
• How has God blessed your family?
• How might God use you to be a blessing to others?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about God’s abundant blessings into your everyday life as a family.
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child:
(Child’s name), may your heart be full of gratefulness because of God’s many blessings. May you use the blessings God has given you to bless others.
Connect as a family
This week, keep a few pieces of fruit nearby as you read this part of The Big God Story. Ask your children if they’ve ever seen how each piece of fruit grows on a tree or bush. Read Galatians 5:13–25 together. We struggle against our sinful nature, but Jesus died to set us free from sin! God’s Holy Spirit inside us renews us, making us more like Him. God’s Spirit grows spiritual fruit in us. Share with your children a way God’s Spirit has renewed you.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
• What is the fruit of the Spirit?
• What are some ways you see the fruit of the Spirit in your family members?
• What are some signs of God’s Spirit working inside of you?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God’s Spirit renews into your everyday life as a family.
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child:
(Child’s name), may God’s Spirit renew you as He grows His spiritual fruit in you. May the fruit He produces show others His great power.
Connect as a family
Before you read this week’s passage, ask your children what makes them feel content. Do they think having more things would make them content? What are those things? Would they feel more content if certain situations in their lives were different? If so, what are those situations? Then read Philippians 4:4–9. Explain to your children that true contentment doesn’t depend on what we possess or our circumstances. Instead, contentment comes from God.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
• What does it mean to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable?
• What are some examples of these things? • What should we do when we’re anxious?
• Where in your life do you need God to help you be more content?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God gives us contentment into your everyday life as a family.
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child:
(Child’s name), may God give you contentment in both the easy times and the hard times. In every situation, may you trust that God is working everything together for good.
Connect as a family
This week, at the dinner table, invite your family members to share their highs and lows of the week. Let everyone know you’re going to read a part of The Big God Story in which Paul wrote letters of encouragement to the Christians living in Thessalonica. Read 1 Thessalonians 1 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13–17. No matter what challenges we may face each week, God is hope. We can always trust that He keeps His promises and that Jesus will return to earth one day.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
• What challenges did the Thessalonians face?
• How did God’s hope allow the Thessalonians to face those challenges?
• How does God’s hope encourage you?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God gives hope into your everyday life as a family.
BLESSING
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child:
(Child’s name), may the Holy Spirit encourage you and give you hope. May you experience His strength this week.