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.

Prayers and Fasting for our Families

One of the most devastating attacks of the enemy against God's people is when he invests in our families. We pray for protection for our loved ones, but we live in a world that never tires of trying to divide our families, constantly pulling and poking at our faith to find a vulnerable spot. The congregation in João Pessoa, in the face of one difficult situation after another, has taken a whole Sunday this month to stay together in prayer and fasting for our families. We are praying for couples in the church losing hope of solving their differences, Christian wives tearfully bearing the responsibility of maintaining the marriage with non-Christian husbands, mothers and daughters in unrelenting tugs of war, unemployment and financial strains, and the most shocking of all, one of our teenager, who is barely beyond childhood, confessed to the church that she is 8 months pregnant (her own mother only found out a week before). It g...

McKinney Report

Search This Blog