The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: One Candle for the Family Table
October 29, 2023
Dear LEFC Parents,
Blow out the candle on the cake! “The Family Table” officially turns 1 this weekend. The very first TFT email hit the inboxes of LEFC parents, guardians, care-givers, and other adults who want to make disciples of the next generation on October 30, 2022. Initially, we planned to experiment with this for 3 months, and after 12 we’re still going strong. Let us know how it’s been helpful to you and what we could do to improve it.
Praying While You Parent
Walt Mueller from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding had an encouraging one minute thought this week on “Youth Culture Today” about the role of prayer in parenting. CPYU is a ministry we have recommended before at The Family Table.
Resisting Gossip on YouVersion
Do you or your teen use the YouVersion mobile app? CLC Ministries has produced a 7-day devotional based on Pastor Matt’s book, Resisting Gossip, for YouVersion users. This might be a good conversation starter for you and your teen.
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. Parents, if you would like to help host the discussion by providing the snack, see Holly Crumrine to get involved.
And for dessert…
Our recommendation for family discipleship this week is to utilize The Gospel Project At Home resources that we have included in each TFT email for the last year.
The Gospel Project is the world-class curriculum that we use for our Kids Bible Classes during the sermon time every Sunday. It takes our Little Learners and Bible Explorers through the entire story of the Bible over the course of three years while focusing on Jesus as the center of the big story. We’re going to start back at the beginning again in Genesis this coming December!
And in this TFT email every Sunday, we always include a link to a devotional that your family can use to reinforce the lesson of the week. If your student missed Kids Bible Class, they can catch up! It’s called “The Gospel Project at Home,” and this week’s lesson was “Ezra Read the Law” (Volume 6: Unit 18: Session 3). There is even a recap video of the Bible story, Scripture memory verses, a song to sing together, and prayer prompts and family activities that correspond to the lesson. Everything you need in one place (for free!) for a meaningful time for your family centered on God’s Word. We hope your family eats it right up!
On towards candle two. See you next Sunday at noon,
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!