Youth Group and Parents

What does the youth group and parents have in common? O.k., the youth, but besides that? Not much nowadays. I remember when I was growing up there was no youth minister to take care of the teens at my congregation. The parents did it. They planned the activities and stayed with us as we learned about Christ. They opened up their homes and had devos that they gave and taught us to do the same.

I am not saying that having a youth minister is a bad thing. Here in João Pessoa we have a good group of young people. We have had some individuals couples spend time with the youth but our youth needed more involvement from the adults, the parents. The parents were the ones who saw this need so We, the parents started meeting in August with the youth group. We sang and prayed together. The youth would have their Bible study and the parents talked about raising kids and difficulties we are facing as parents, among other things. The parents have enjoyed their time together. The youth don't feel like the parents are cramping their style. Everything is good. Actually it is better. There is no substitue for parents taking care of their kids. There is no better spiritual role model than ones own parents.

Please pray:

that parents will dedicate their time to the spiritual formation of their children;
that children and youth will grow to love God more than anything else in this World.

Comments

"What About Baptism?"

Edda and I went to a nearby city to study the Bible with a family, Genilda (who is already a Christian), Ana, Mariana, Luiza, and Jefferson. While we were reading God's Word, Ana's husband, Silva, came in and sat down, and then blurted out: "What about baptism?" It took me by surprise because he has barely studied with us, but, most certainly, is already thinking about spiritual matters. Our Bible study then took a lot of detours, answering this question or that. Silva said he still has a lot of questions, and we pray that the Lord will use us to answer them, bringing him to understand the Good News!

One More Goodbye

This year has been rough for Borges's family. They lost a pillar in their family, his wife's mother in February. Now her brother has passed, buried today. He was diagnosed with prostrate cancer 18 months ago. A policeman, used to taking care of the family, he had to settle with being taken care of by the family as his body gradually shut down when the cancer metastasized to his bones. Borges and Geilza have spent every free moment taking care of Demilson's needs, and it has been torture watching him slowly wear away. His colleagues in the Military Police carried his casket, played taps on a trumpet, presented his family with a Paraiba flag, and thanked his family for supporting him in defending society for nearly thirty years. It was a nice gesture, but the event that gives us believers hope in the face of death is Jesus winning over the grave. He is our certainty that a grave is not the end.

Weekend VBS

The end of April, my wife, Monica, traveled to Patos with the AME (Adventures in Evangelistic Missions) group to have VBS with the church there. It was the first VBS for the AME class and for the church in Patos, the first one in about 10 years. Monica said that there were 24 children on the first day and 26 on the second. It was a weekend VBS, Saturday morning, afternoon and Sunday morning. They also did a campaign around the church building inviting people to the VBS, the church meeting, and an adult class on Friday night. They also had a couples meeting as well as a youth group meetings happening in between other activities. Needless to say, they were pretty busy. They all came back exci...

McKinney Report

Search This Blog