The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: In Pursuit
November 26, 2023
Dear LEFC Parents,
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with food, family, and gratitude for all of God’s blessings. Here are some things to think about this week for discipling your family:
Advent Resources
If your family couldn’t make the waffle party this morning, see Holly Crumrine to get the gist of what was discussed and a list of resources that were shared. Advent officially begins next Sunday! What is your family going to do to make the most of this annual count-down to Christmas?
Help Deck the Halls
Does your family like to decorate for Christmas? You are all invited to help ready our church building for the Christmas season on Wednesday November 29th. Plan now to join us starting at 5:30pm as we set up the tree, hang banners, and put all the other special touches in and around our facility. Questions? See Maria Jackson.
KBC Handbells
“There’s music in the air!” Our Bible Explorers Class is excitedly practicing a Hand Bell version of the well-loved Christmas classic, Silent Night. Practices take place each Sunday morning during the first few minutes of Kids Bible Class. ALL kids in grades 1-3 are encouraged to participate! The kids will be sharing their selection during the regular 10:00AM Sunday Worship service on December 10 and also at the special Christmas Eve service at 7:00PM December 24. Mark your calendars!
The Gospel Project at Home
There is no “at home” version of what the kids learned today in Kids’ Bible Class. Starting next Sunday, the Little Learners and Bible Explorers will embark on another trek through the whole Bible beginning in Genesis! See Vicky Albert for more information.
Send Pastor Matt Your Kids’ Sports Schedules
Winter 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.
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 about the message.
And for dessert…
Whitetail rifle season has just opened in Pennsylvania, and many of our families are heading out together into the woods for fun, food, and…discipleship?
We have been learning that family discipleship is something that can and should take place all of the time. Hunting, especially when a parent and a child go out together, can be a prime time to utilize for helping your kids to grow in faith in Jesus. You are together, you’re alone in God’s creation, and you have some quality time on your hands for talking about what matters most.
I (Pastor Matt) thought this classic article by Baptist pastor George Ross was helpful and thoughtful: 10 Things A Dad Can Teach His Son While Hunting (though it’s not just dads or sons who can profit from it!). He gives you ten ideas you can run with for topics to talk about in the tree-stand or when you go back to the truck to warm up or for a bite to eat.
Even better might be to read some devotions from In Pursuit: Devotions for the Hunter & Fisherman by my friend Zeke Pipher, an EFCA pastor and outdoorsman who spoke at our Wild Game Dinner a few years ago. He packs a lot into 2 short pages including a scripture verse and a prayer you and your hunting buddy could read together.
- Watch & Listen to Zeke read chapter 1 from the Briar Patch.
- Watch & Listen to Zeke read chapter 33 from the Briar Patch.
- Check out In Pursuit from the church library.
Happy hunting!
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!