The Family Table

Dear LEFC Parents,

“Hosanna in the highest!” Today marks the start of Passion Week, an annual time to meditate on the crucial events of the seven days between our Lord’s Triumphal Entry and His Resurrection. What are you planning to do as a family to grow the young disciples in your home this week?

Egg Hunt at the Ark Park – This Saturday!

The LEFC Family Ministries Team is organizing an Easter egg hunt on March 30th at 10:00am on our LEFC campus. In addition to the hunt, we’ll be organizing indoor crafts and activities to enjoy. If you’d like to volunteer in one of the various areas of need, please arrive at the church at 9am on Saturday to get plugged in! Children ages 0-12 are invited to participate. Registration will begin at 9:30am. Who could you invite to join you that needs to hear about Jesus?

Last Day for the “Egg Your Yard” Challenge Fundraiser

Our church is currently sending 10 students to Challenge 2024 in Kansas City, MO! We will be conducting some fundraisers for the remaining third of the cost and to give our group opportunities for team building before we hit the road. Our first fundraising effort is an “Egg Your Yard” event. For a suggested donation of $50 (for 100 eggs) or $75 (for 150 eggs), you can wake up to an egg hunt in your own yard on Easter morning! Sign-ups and envelopes are available in the foyer and will be posted on our church’s Facebook wall for family and friends of LEFC. Please see Cody or Holly Crumrine for questions or more information. Today is the last day to sign-up.

Final Evening of “Chasing Love” – Bible Study for Teens

Tonight is the last meeting for our class for youth, Chasing Love: Sex, Love, and Relationships in a Confused Culture (7:00 in the upstairs Youth Room). “Chasing Love” is led by Keith and Heather Hurley and Joan Page. Other parents are always welcome and invited to participate, too. Tonight’s lesson is about “The Challenge.”

The Gospel Project at Home 

Today’s Bible Study is “The Church Spread Out” (Volume 10: Unit 31: Session 4). Ask your kids what they learned in Kids Bible Class this morning and/or do the family devotional you can find at this link.

No Snack and Yack on March 31st and April 7th 

Due to the baptisms on Resurrection Sunday and the church family meal and meeting on April 7th, there will be no Snack and Yack the next two Sundays. Kids can still fill out a handout as they listen and discuss the message with their parents afterwards.

Send Pastor Matt Your Kids’ Sports Schedules

Spring sports are here! I (Pastor Matt) love to drop in to see the kids of our church family play their sports, but I need to know when and where the games are. It’s hard to keep track of who is on what team. If you could send me your kids’ sports schedules for this new season, it will help me to make it to more games and spend some quality time with your family.

And for dessert…

Our recommendations for family discipleship this week are three tools for helping your kids to pray for Muslims during their religious month of Ramadan.

Around the world, Muslims are currently observing Ramadan, a holy month for their religion. This year it began on March 11th and ends on April 9th, so we are about half-way through it.

These 30 days are a great opportunity for Christians to pray for Muslims to come to know Jesus as their Savior. And that also makes it a great opportunity to teach our kids about prayer, missions, other world religions, and loving different people with the gospel.

1. In her helpful short article at Christian Parenting, “Helping your kids engage in Ramadan from a Biblical worldview,” Kate Stevens tells some great stories about how her family has interacted with their Muslim neighbors and also helped their kids to develop a biblical approach to relating to Muslims including meaningful prayer prompts for each of the four weeks of Ramadan:

“Week one: Pray God would give them dreams of who He truly is. Muslims take dreams very seriously, and we know God is over our minds as well.

Week two: Pray that God would build up followers of Jesus during this season. Muslims believe Jesus was real, but they deny His authority and deity.

Week three: Pray for Christians who live in Muslim countries or those who are seeking a life outside of Islam. This is a dangerous season for those who do not celebrate Ramadan but live in a Muslim country. It is always dangerous for those who are pursuing a different faith.

Week four: Pray for your own hearts toward the lost Muslims of the world. There is an estimated 1.9 billion followers of Islam—pray for their eyes to be open to Truth.”

2. When our (Mitchells’) kids were little, we often used the resources provided by 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. They produce a guide each year specifically for kids at the preschool and lower elementary levels.

But you don’t have to buy or use their guide. Your family could simply access their Facebook page or other social media account, look at the daily picture and start praying away.

3. The newest resource that I (Pastor Matt) have begun to use to shape my prayer for people around the world is PrayerCast, a ministry of OneWay. PrayerCast has a trove of resources on their website including prayer plans, lessons in how to pray, and mission news from around the world.

One of their most powerful offerings is an array of videos featuring different cultures from around the world. Each video focuses on a person from that culture who is a follower of Jesus from that background who leads in prayer for their own people. I have subscribed to get a new video each week (and daily during Ramadan).

Check out PrayerCast’s Love Muslims initiative which already has 140 free videos.

Remember that you don’t have to do anything big or fancy. You just have to lead your family in prayer. Kate Stevens finishes her article by saying, “…for 30 days, keep the Muslims in mind. Building a Biblical worldview of Muslims into your children now will help in not only their own faith journey but also the journey of those who believe differently.”

Imagine how the Lord might use this in our families and around the world!

Matt Mitchell, Pastor
Jordyn Skacel, Family Table Assistant Editor

P.S. If you, as a parent, want to learn more about Islam from an expert, Pastor Matt highly recommends this lecture series from Timothy Tennent at Biblical Training. Tennent is a seminary professor who formerly served in a Muslim country as a Christian missionary.