The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: Bullied Boys and Girls
August 25, 2024
Dear LEFC Parents,
Here are some key items to set the table for disciple-making in your family in the week ahead:
Talking With Your Teenager About Sexuality
Jennifer Kvamme was recently interviewed at the Rooted Podcast about how to talk with and what to say to our teens about sexuality. Jennifer is the author whom our Challenge Crew got to meet and learn from her book More to the Story which Pastor Matt highly recommends. This topic isn’t going away, and we need to address it with grace and truth.
New Director of Family Ministry!
Last Sunday, the congregation affirmed the appointment of Jordyn Skacel as LEFC’s first Director of Family Ministry.
Jordyn will be leading our efforts to bring families into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ through ministries to the children, youth, and parents of our church and community.
Expect to hear a lot more from Jordyn here at The Family Table!
Jordyn’s first official day is tomorrow. Please pray for her as she takes up these new responsibilities.
LEFC Fall Retreat
Join your LEFC church family for a weekend getaway on October 18-20! The Family Ministries Team is excited to invite you to our Fall Retreat, where we will hear teaching and grow spiritually, build community, experience rich fellowship, share meals, and have lots of fun! All ages are encouraged to attend and will have a place to engage during age-specific breakouts. You’ll have opportunities to play games, eat a s’more around the campfire, chat with old friends and get to know new ones!
The camp is just one hour away and transportation can be provided if needed. The cost is $25 for an individual and $50 for couples and families, which covers housing, food, and activities for the weekend. We’ll even be back in time for church on Sunday! See Jordyn Skacel, Holly Crumrine, or Vicky Albert with questions. Registration information is online or on the table in the foyer.
Fall Sports
Fall 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.
Now is also a good time to re-visit this relevant article, “Keep Your Cool While Cheering for Your Kid.” It’s easy to get carried away and these authors have some helpful and practical counsel to check our hearts and guard our behaviors up in the stands.
The Gospel Project at Home
Today’s Bible Study is “We Will Be Part of the New Heaven and Earth” (Volume 12: Unit 36: Session 3). Ask your kids what they learned in Kids Bible Class this morning and/or do the family devotional you can find at this link.
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 an LEFC elder couple about the message.
And for dessert…
Our recommendation for family discipleship this week is a podcast episode on dealing with childhood bullying.
I (Pastor Matt) recently discovered that Focus on the Family has a podcast called “Practice Makes Parent” featuring conversations between Dr. Danny Huerta and Rebecca St. James with expert guests on matters of Christian wisdom for parents trying to raise their kids in faith.
In July, they published an episode ambitiously entitled, “How to Stop Bullying.” Sadly, the hosts don’t actually offer a silver bullet for stopping bullies in their tracks, but I did think they offered some good principles for supporting our children when they experience bullying at school.
It was worthy listening to and sparking more good conversations, especially between parents. What is your plan for if (when?) this happens to your child?
For more:
– Listen to the first “teaser” episode of Practice Makes Parent.
– Read/listen to an interview with Jonathan McKee, author of The Bullying Breakthrough at FamilyLife.
– Read/listen to an interview with Kevin McKay on Bullying and the Gospel: What’s a Parent to Say and Do? at the Disciple-Making Parent.
We hope your family eats it right up!
Matt Mitchell, Pastor
Holly Crumrine, Family Table Editor
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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!