Friends, D6 2017 was amazing.
The presence of God was tangible. The fellowship of His people was encouraging. The information shared was enlightening. And the food… the food was amazing (Got to hand it to you, Texas… your food trucks and Tex-Mex were top of the line!)
I had the privilege of getting to share my heart for family ministry in several arenas and had such a great time getting to know ministers from around the world. Of all the things that happened at this conference, by far these moments were my favorite:
Hearing the stories of the work that God is doing on churches across the globe and praying with each other about everything from hurricanes to ministry transitions.
One of the major takeaways for me was this: God is at work. He is moving in and through His people. His heart is being put into action and His Church is listening for Him to speak to and through them. It can get hard to see this when what we hear about the Church often sounds divisive and disheartening. But friends, that was not my experience this week. My experience was one of grace, excitement, and anticipation of the work God is doing in the world.
As promised to many, here are the links to the resources I mentioned in my sessions or conversations. Thank you for letting me part of your ministry journey! I hope the seeds that were planted bear much fruit for God’s kingdom and you are encouraged to know you are not alone.
From Main Stage presentation:
I mentioned that the first time I heard about the ideas of family ministry came from Pastor Brian Haynes at a similar conference. His book Shift: What it Takes to Finally Reach Families was a huge part of that for me. His other books, The Legacy Path: Discover Intentional Spiritual Parenting, and Relentless Parenting, which he wrote with his wife Angela, are great follow-ups that I also recommend.
For ideas on ways to invite Christ into the everyday, be sure to check out the Practical Discipleship at Home page on this site that includes creative suggestions ranging from how to make Family Movie Night a discipleship moment to ways to pray with our kids.
From “When Family Ministry Doesn’t Work” Breakout:
To access the slides from this session, go to https://prezi.com/x6nby-dvuhyt/family-ministry/ and for ideas to help you tap into your church’s vision, mission and values, be sure to check out the Church Health Assessment offered from Randall House in conjunction with Ron Hunter’s book, The DNA of D6.
Check out the Family Ministry page on this site for a variety of resources that can help you as you transition to family ministry and be sure to check out the following articles: Practical Ways to Embrace Kids who Come Alone, A Few Verses about Family Ministry (remember, that biblical basis is so important!) and Transformational Homes: A Four Part Series on the Importance of Faith at Home.
From “When Generations Collide” Breakout:
To access the slides from this session, go to https://prezi.com/rexxyfkp-fdv/when-generations-collide/ and for a synopsis of the conversation we had, check out “Why Intergenerational Worship? And Why Now?”
We talked a bit about the Pray for Me Campaign that connects kids in your church with three prayer partners of various generations. For more information on that program, check out www.prayformecampaign.com and Tony Souder’s book “Pray For Me.“
For more ideas on how to bring generations together within your faith community, check out to following posts:
- Practical Ways to Welcome Kids to Church
- Doing Church Together – Five Ways to Keep the Family Together at Church
- What Does the Bible say about Intergenerational Ministry
- My Kid Doesn’t Get Anything Out of Church
From the (AWESOME) Family Ministry Connect Group:
We talked a lot about the research presented by both Dr. Vern Bengtson and Dr. Richard Ross. Click on their names for links to both of their books and remember, I’d love to continue our conversations. Be sure to contact me if you want to keep talking. I so enjoyed our time of debriefing together. Also, for those of you that were there the second night, the cheese made it 🙂
Friends, I truly hope that the relationships that were started this weekend, the times of prayer and the fruitful conversations will continue. Thank you for letting me be a part of it! God is doing something awesome—let’s not miss it!!
She writes at www.refocusministry.org and is a contributing writer at D6 Family, ChurchLeaders.com, and Seedbed. You can follow her on FB: ReFocus Ministry and Twitter: @EmbreeChristina
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