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3 Biblical Concepts

The Church is the Family of God The Church Labors Together The Church Helps Prepare Youth

What is Family Youth ministry?

Ephesians 4:11-16 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, (12) for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (14) As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; (15) but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, (16) from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Three Modes of Youth and Family Ministry The Counseling/Care Mode The Nuclear Family Mode The “Church as Family” Mode

The Counseling/Care Mode What is it? The Counseling/Care approach to family ministry manifests itself primarily through education and programs. Since families often need someone with special training and education to help them, the crucial ministers within this mode are paid staff. There are two metaphors that help us to understand what is offered by this mode, guardrails and the emergency room.

The Counseling/Care Mode Strengths: We know that real life is full of difficult situations, and that family life today does not look like an idyllic television sitcom. We must meet the real needs of people. This mode teaches our congregation in order to prepare them, as well as to counsel them and to help them heal. Some Potential Problems: This mode is based primarily in programs, and often these programs are not well attended. Without participants, the potential healing and education this mode offers remains as mere potential, not reality.

The Nuclear Family Mode What is it? According to this mode of family ministry, parents are the primary spiritual nurturers of their children, and it is the church’s job to equip parents to accomplish this task. Children spend far more time with their families than they ever will at church. While a child may come to church for a maximum of 230 hours per year, they will potentially spend over 7,000 hours in that same year with their families. In this mode the church also offers resources to parents that help them in their task of teaching their children. The nuclear family model at its best “aims at developing stronger family relationships so that families will be more effective teachers and messengers of the love of Christ.”

The Nuclear Family Mode Strengths: Scripture does affirm the unique quality of the parent-child relationship as well as the marriage relationship. Both the Old and New Testaments give specific attention to particular, nuclear family relationships. Some Potential Problems: Parents often feel inadequate to be primary teachers of their kids. This mode can also ignore relationships and needs of “non- traditional” families and singles within a church. Only families that fit the typical “nuclear triad” (mother, father, children) find the supportive environment they need.

The “Church as Family” Mode What is it? This mode understands that our most basic identity is “in Christ” above all else. The church, then, has priority over nuclear family boundaries. In Christ we have a new family. It is the new first family, a family of His followers that now demands primary allegiance. In fact, it demands allegiance even over the old first family, the biological family. Those who do the will of the Father…are now brothers and sisters of Jesus and one another.” Therefore anyone in the church can form and maintain family ties with anyone else in Christ.

The “Church as Family” Mode Strengths: This mode is attentive to the teachings from Jesus about a new family, formed from those who do God’s will. (Mark 3:34-35.) It also has the potential to emphasize this type of community without undermining the biological family. Some Potential Problems: If a church puts so much emphasis on community, inclusion, and taking care of everybody’s needs, it could undermine the family system by not supporting its uniqueness. In other words fathers still need to be fathers and the same is true for mothers and children. There is a struggle to tangibly support healthy family systems. For example, the mentality may arise that “we don’t preach healthy marriages because it will exclude the single mom, and we want to love her and be a family with her” or “we don’t have father/daughter events because it excludes all girls with negative relationships with their fathers.” Another risk that can accompany this mode is that, despite the community emphasis, it can contribute to even greater fragmentation. For example, the youth may have the idea that “we don’t need adults, because we are family for each other.” People may sign on for community, but feel it is their prerogative to pick and choose their community. This simply does not work; there must be a whole-church family.

Three Modes of Youth and Family Ministry The Counseling/Care Mode The Nuclear Family Mode The “Church as Family” Mode

What are we going to do at Palm Beach Lakes?

Family Youth Ministry Vision Statement At Palm Beach Lakes the family of God is actively involved in the faith building of the youth, strengthening of the family unit and the edification of the body. We seek to achieve this through bible education, congregational involvement and providing opportunities for spiritual development.

Healthy and evangelistic CongregationFamiliesIndividuals