The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: 52 Desserts
December 31, 2023
Dear LEFC Parents,
Happy New Year! We hope you had a joyful Christmas celebration this past week full of meaningful moments for learning about our Lord Jesus.
Here are items to set the table for family discipleship in your home this week:
Family Discipleship Conference at Pathway Church
Registration is open for the conference we shared last week at Pathway Church in Beaver Falls (January 13, 9:00-2:00) and all parents are invited. The cost is only $20 for individuals or $30 for a couple which includes lunch, and they are offering a childcare option (requested donation $10/kid). Our Family Ministries Interim Leadership Team is offering 75% scholarships for families for whom this may be a hardship. See Holly, Jordyn, or Vicky for more information.
The Gospel Project at Home
Today’s Bible Study is “Jesus Gave His Followers a Mission” (Volume 10: Unit 29: Session 1). Ask your kids what they learned in Kids Bible Class this morning and/or do the family devotional you can find at this link.
Challenge Conference – Advanced Planning
The 2024 Challenge Conference has been announced for July 1-5 in Kansas City. We’d love to send a group from LEFC as we have in past years. To do that we need interested youth (grades 7-12) and willing adult leaders. That seems like a long time from now, but it will be here before we know it. (Read more about Challenge on the official conference website.)
Snack and Yack
When the auditorium empties after worship, girls and boys (grades 3ish-7ish) who listened to the sermon (remember to fill out a handout!) are invited to Pastor Matt’s office for a tasty treat and a brief discussion with one of the LEFC elders and their wives (and sometimes guest preachers?!) about the message.
And for dessert…
Our recommended resource for family discipleship on the last day of 2023 is The Family Table Archive.
We’ve had a terrific year of stimulating family discipleship through this Family Table newsletter. The archive has the last 52 Sunday’s worth of recommended resources (and even more). It’s been a joyful privilege to fill your inbox with suggestions for feeding the faith of your family.
Thanks for reading The Family Table in 2023. Let us know what was helpful and what you’d like to hear more about in 2024.
Matt Mitchell, Pastor
Holly Crumrine, 2023 Family Ministries Coordinator
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EXPLAINER: THE GOSPEL PROJECT AT HOME
For the last several years, our Children’s Church ministry has utilized The Gospel Project as our Bible study curriculum. The Gospel Project is really excellent–it takes our Little Learners and Bible Explorers chronologically through the whole Bible over the course of three years while always focusing on Jesus as the center of the big story. If your student was in Little Learners or Bible Explorers this morning, they received a coloring page and take-home sheet that corresponds to this lesson. You have also been given a full-color Big Picture Card that you can use to reinforce the lesson with your child, as well.
To reinforce what your kids are learning each week in Children’s Church, you can now access The Gospel Project At Home online. Each week in this email, there will be a link to follow to get this free resource which includes:
1. A guide to using the Gospel Project at Home.
2. Scripture to read and discuss with a recap video of the Bible Story (Preschool and/or Elementary).
3. Scripture memory verses and a song to sing together.
4. Prayer prompts and family activities that correspond to the lesson.
Please consider setting aside at least 10-15 minutes once a week for a family devotional time using this resource as a guide. We are hoping The Gospel Project At Home will help keep all of our LEFC kids “on the same page,” and feed their faith in Jesus.
This might be especially helpful if for some reason your child has to miss a week of Children’s Church. You can show them the Bible story video to keep them up to speed on what the other children are learning.
**Note: The first time you access the link, you will need to register a free account with Lifeway’s Ministry Grid. This will also provide you ongoing access through the “training” tab to many other discipleship resources including the Gospel Project at Home for previous weeks. Many hours of excellent things to absorb for free!