TFT: Are You Up to the Challenge?
May 31, 2026
Family Bible Week 2026: Coming Up Soon!
Family Bible week is fast approaching! We’ll kickoff the week together on June 14th during church with a kickoff picnic after and gather Monday through Thursday at 6:15 for Bible teaching, singing, fun and fellowship. We’ll be shining a light on who Jesus really is at our Illumination Station! Mark your calendars now to join us, and spread the word to invite your friends, too! Blank postcards are on the table in the foyer for you to use to invite others. Grab some and pass them out!
Junior Youth Group
We have exciting news for kids who will be in grades 4-6 next year! We’re upgrading Snack and Yack into a brand new ministry: Junior Youth Group! We’re excited to bring students a full evening meeting, not just a few minutes after church, where they can learn, grow, foster friendships, and take new steps in their faith. Beginning May 31st, the Snack and Yack ministry will cease as we prepare to launch our Junior Youth Group in the fall, led by Curtis Quick and Marilynn Kristofits! We encourage you to get your students excited for this brand new ministry. More details are still to come!
Child Protection Policy Rollout
Our new Child Protection Policy rolls out tomorrow, June 1. Next Sunday, you will notice changes when you come to church on Sunday. The most notable of these will be a brand new check-in station beside the mailboxes. Each Sunday, guardians will need to stop by that station upon arrival to check their children in to our Sunday morning Kids Bible Classes and nursery. This allows us to better serve, care for, and protect your children as they participate in our programs. We are prepared to help you adjust to this new procedure the first few weeks, as it will take some getting used to. If you are a parent of a child who participates in KBC or nursery, prepare yourself for these changes next week. If you have questions about any of these new processes or the new policy, please see Jordyn Skacel.
Helping Your Kids Move Beyond Bible Stories
Tiny Theologians recently published a blog post about building Biblical literacy in your kids. They write, “Most Christian parents want their children to know the Bible. We read storybook Bibles before bed, play Scripture songs in the car, memorize verses together, and faithfully bring our children to church each week. These things matter deeply. Children should grow up hearing the stories of Scripture often. But there is an important difference between knowing Bible stories and developing biblical literacy.”
In this blog post, they detail the importance of your children understanding the big story of scripture, connecting these stories and characters together to get the big picture of God’s redemptive plan. While learning stories is important and necessary to our understanding, without connecting them to the larger story kids can sometimes merely come away with isolated moral lessons. We encourage you to take just a few minutes to check it out and consider how you might further nurture your child’s Biblical understanding.
This Week’s Challenge: Sharing Your Testimony
Have you ever shared your testimony? Testimonies, in which someone shares their journey of coming to faith in Christ or a monumental milestone in their faith, can be a powerful tool in discipling others to grow in their relationship with Jesus, too. Some are dramatic, with Paul-like conversions. Others are more linear, with someone having grown up in a Christian home and never remembering what life before Christ was like. Neither is more important or meaningful than the other. Both represent someone turning from death to life that is found in Christ.
Have you ever considered sharing your testimony with your children? This week’s challenge is to take a moment to share your story of coming to Christ with your kids. This might feel intimidating to you, but sharing your story with them could be a powerful conversation starter and significant step in building your relationship with your children as a spiritual guide in their lives. It allows you to open yourself up, letting your kids see the work that the Spirit has done in your life.
Do you need a bit of a nudge to get you started thinking through what you might share? Check out this article from The Gospel Coalition for guidance.
“Jesus’ Ministry Continues” Kids Bible Class Devotional
You have free access to a family devotional based on the curriculum our kids are studying each week in KBC! It’s called “The Gospel Project at Home.” Today’s Bible Study is “Jesus and the Samaritan Woman” (Volume 7: Unit 21: Session 5), and the devotional can be found at this link.
Visit the Family Ministries page on our website for information about how to access The Gospel Project at Home for the first time.
And for Dessert…
Our recommendation for family discipleship this week is a Summer Bible Reading Challenge that your children (and you!) can tackle while on school break.
Crossway, publisher of the ESV Bible, has created a Summer Bible Reading Challenge to help kids stay encouraged and engaged with scripture all summer long. It’s a 12-week reading plan that starts tomorrow, June 1st and ends August 21st. For many local students, that also coincides perfectly with summer break, making this a great opportunity to fill that newly-formed void in your child’s day. The content for each day is brief, just enough for a child to tackle, and will cover both Old Testament and New Testament passages. A weekly email will be sent out with information for that week.
Of course, the best thing about signing up for the challenge is that it gives you and your child the opportunity to savor scripture. However, the next best thing is that by signing up, you’ll receive three free months of access to ESV.org! Not only that, but Crossway is offering a prize for children who successfully complete the challenge as well. Children who complete the challenge will receive a free copy of the new The Biggest Story Scripture Journal For Kids, as well as The Biggest Story Verse Cards! Wow, what a great prize to honor their dedication in finishing up the reading plan!
This reading plan could be the perfect balance of structure that you and your child need to stay on track this summer. This is an exciting opportunity to get your fill of scripture and win some fantastic resources as prizes for finishing, as well!
Sign up to participate in the plan here!
Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor