Over the past few weeks at Oak Road, I've been laying out for the saints there a picture of where we will be heading as a congregation. One of the facets of that has been in the area of Family Ministry. Now, I recognize that anytime you throw the word "family" into the conversation, there are certain pictures that pop into the mind. Quite often, we think about your typical family, that of a mother, father, and some number of children. While that is certainly a part of family ministry, it isn't the whole picture by any means.
Family ministry involves people in any and all stages of life. There are families that consist of a single person. There are families that consist of a married couple who have not yet had children. There is the "typical" family of mother, father, and children. There is the family of one parent plus children. Then, there is the family of grown children who have moved out. There is the family of retired persons having to learn to live with much more frequent contact with one another. There is the family of the grieving widow or widower. And there are many, many more family stages that we could add.
The point here is, family ministry is intended to cover all ages and stages. Sure, there may be some particular ages and stages that get more attention, or more resources, but as family ministry develops, we will indeed be looking at all ages and stages. Family ministry cannot help but do that. That means that, as we look to develop this important area of ministry, we will have many different lenses that we will be looking through.
To aid in this, I will be talking to several people in the congregation about helping in the creation of what all this will look like. What will we offer? What kinds of programs might be helpful? Who all will be part of it? These are the questions that this group will help me to figure out, as we look to build up the family of all ages and stages as God would have us do.
Family ministry involves people in any and all stages of life. There are families that consist of a single person. There are families that consist of a married couple who have not yet had children. There is the "typical" family of mother, father, and children. There is the family of one parent plus children. Then, there is the family of grown children who have moved out. There is the family of retired persons having to learn to live with much more frequent contact with one another. There is the family of the grieving widow or widower. And there are many, many more family stages that we could add.
The point here is, family ministry is intended to cover all ages and stages. Sure, there may be some particular ages and stages that get more attention, or more resources, but as family ministry develops, we will indeed be looking at all ages and stages. Family ministry cannot help but do that. That means that, as we look to develop this important area of ministry, we will have many different lenses that we will be looking through.
To aid in this, I will be talking to several people in the congregation about helping in the creation of what all this will look like. What will we offer? What kinds of programs might be helpful? Who all will be part of it? These are the questions that this group will help me to figure out, as we look to build up the family of all ages and stages as God would have us do.
No comments:
Post a Comment