The Family Table

Family Ministries Book Fair: Happening Now!

Family Ministries is currently operating a book fair after church in the former MOPS room across from the fellowship hall. Come leaf through an array of trusted resources from parenting and marriage books to kids board books and submit an order form of picks to equip you for disciple-making in your home. We will then order the items for you and distribute them when they arrive. The most exciting part is that you’ll get them at a discount, as Family Ministries will cover a percentage of the price for you so that our families can get solid material in their hands. We even have fun little items for kids to purchase, so be sure they bring their quarters! You’ve got one more week to take advantage of this opportunity to stock your personal library, as February 15th is the final day of the fair. Check it out after church next Sunday!

Homeschool Support

Attention homeschooling families! Would you be interested in a homeschool group right here in the West Branch area? With several homeschooling families in our church and others who are considering it for the future, we want to support and provide opportunities for you. If you have any interest in homeschool support, whether navigating the “how-to’s”, attending events and field trips, or opportunities for your child to learn from professionals, please respond to this email to indicate your interest and let us know what would be helpful for you. Talk to Vicky Albert or Jordyn Skacel if you have questions!

Challenge 2026

Challenge is a biennial youth conference hosted by our national denomination, the EFCA. Teens from around the country will gather to worship, learn, serve, and have a blast in Kansas City, MO this July 11-14. Registration is now open for all students grades 6 and up, including seniors. Talk to Cody or Holly Crumrine if interested and secure your spot by March 15th!

Egg Hunt at the Ark Park 2026

Save the date for this year’s Egg Hunt at the Ark Park on Saturday, April 4th at 10:00am!

This Week’s Challenge: Confessing Sin

Every one of us falls short and sins against God, and every one of us is an imperfect parent. There is only one perfect Father! Our kids too, even the littlest of them, are sinners with a broken human nature stained by the fall. Confession should be a regular practice in our walks with God, admitting our sin to him and agreeing with him that it was wrong. As parents, we often see our children’s sin clearly and seek to point them on the correct path through discipline. But do you point your child to the Father, coming before Him together and leading them to confess their wrongdoing? Do you share with them the wonderful gift of Jesus that wipes that sin away?

This week’s challenge is to take some time for confession in your home. When your child sins, encourage them to pray to God, confessing their sin and asking for forgiveness. You could suggest something simple like “God, it was wrong for me to __________, please forgive me.” Do you know what would be even more impactful? Praying this prayer yourself, as their parent, right alongside them. Our children learn best when they see us modeling it!
“Ezra Taught God’s Law” 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 “Ezra Taught God’s Law” (Volume 6: Unit 18: Session 2), 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…

This week’s recommendation is an eggcellent Easter resource for your family to utilize leading up to Easter. Your family may have a favorite advent resource that you use in your home during the month of December leading up to Christmas. But do you have a similar habit to prepare for Easter? FamilyLife, which has countless valuable  materials for Families, has developed a fantastic resource to celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection. Resurrection Eggs allow kids to “see, touch, and hear the story of Easter” as they open one egg at a time in the dozen days leading up to and including Easter Sunday. Each egg contains a symbol of Jesus’ journey to the cross for kids to see and tangibly hold in their hands. The pack equips parents with an explanation of each item as well as songs, scripture, discussion questions, and activities to share with their child(ren).

One of my (Jordyn) favorite parts of these eggs is that most of the items make noise, so it is a fun family “game” trying to guess what is in each one as we shake and rattle it. I love that each item is a pathway to learning a part of the story. Kids have incredible memories, and by seeing, touching, and feeling those items there is a good chance that by Easter, they will remember the gist of the story because they remember the items they discovered. I love getting to see the excitement my boys have over getting to open an egg every day, similar to the excitement they have when putting ornaments on their advent tree.

It may feel silly to be talking about Easter this early, but preparing now gives you plenty of time to order your set and have them in-hand before you would start opening eggs on March 25th. But we have a special offer for you to take advantage of! Did you see above about the book fair, running through next week? Several of those resources are available through FamilyLife as well, so we will be placing an order for books that families order through the fair. If you personally would like to purchase Resurrection Eggs for your family, LEFC will discount the price of the eggs to just $15 if you order them from us by next Sunday, February 15th. We will then submit the order with our book fair order and get the eggs to you when they arrive at the church. Reply to this email or contact Jordyn ([email protected]) to order yours!

We hope your family has an ex-shell-ent time exploring the Easter story together!

Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor