The Family Table

Calling All Moms: Mom’s Night Out!

Moms with children in the home or those who are expecting are invited to join us on May 16th at 7:00 at the church for a fun night of conversation, fellowship, plenty of snacks, a craft, and an engaging guest speaker. Take this opportunity to get out of the house and gather with fellow moms for a soul-refreshing evening! Nursing babies are welcome. Last year, we had a wonderful time together. The event is free, but registration is highly encouraged so we can plan well. Register here to attend!

Child Protection Policy Meetings

Are you a parent of an LEFC child or a Family Ministries volunteer (have submitted your clearances with us)? On June 1st, we will be rolling out our new Child Protection Policy. This policy brings with it some new changes to our children’s programs that you need to be aware of. We have scheduled meetings, as detailed below, to introduce you to the new policy and the changes that it will bring. We want to make sure that on June 1st, you are prepared and that confusion is avoided. We will share important information with you and answer any questions you may have so that you feel informed and equipped. If you are unable to attend these dates, please speak with Jordyn Skacel.

• Volunteer Orientation
  • Required for all Family Ministries Volunteers, unless you have attended the Teacher Briefing
    • Choose either:
      • April 26th after church OR
      • May 3rd after church
• Parent Meetings (strongly encouraged but not required)
  • All parents of LEFC children who have not attended the teacher briefing or volunteer orientation
  • Choose either:
    • May 17th after church OR
    • May 31st after church

Send Pastor Matt Your Kids’ Sports Schedules

Spring 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.

This Week’s Challenge: Supplication

Have you herd of the ACTS prayer model? A is for adoration, C is for confession, T is for thanksgiving, and S is for supplication, which means making requests for yourself and others. This might be the part of prayer that comes most natural to kids, as they are often quick to think of things that they want and need. This week’s challenge is to spend time with your child in prayer making requests of God for yourselves and for others. To help your child move beyond the superficial, consider modeling praying for things like courage to do the right thing, wisdom in a tough situation, strength to carry you through a tough time, etc. Help them think of needs of others as well, balancing their own desires and lifting their eyes to see the needs around them, too.

“Jesus’ Ministry Began” 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 Was Tempted” (Volume 7: Unit 20: Session 3), 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 short and helpful article about times and ways to pray with your kids (besides meal-times).

Kristen Wetherell knows that families are most likely to pray together when they sit down to a meal–and that’s a great time to stop and thank the Lord for His good gifts to us. But meal-times are not the only time that we should be leading our children to “the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16).

She writes, “These sweet, childlike prayers are wonderful (albeit repetitive and sometimes boring). But if we’re being honest, praying outside of mealtimes doesn’t come naturally to us. Our schedules demand a faster pace than a prayerful spirit can match; our wiggly kids don’t sit still for long; and did we mention that prayer is hard work?”

And then Wetherell suggests five other key times for parents to pause and pray with their kids including first thing, last thing, and key moments in between.

I (Pastor Matt) really appreciated her suggestions for a morning send-off prayer:

“You can pray right when your kids wake up, or you might hold hands with your family members before sending everyone off to school and work. You can take a blessing straight from Scripture and adapt it for your family, or you might use a repeated liturgical blessing like the one our family says: ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank you for this day. / Bless us as we serve you, as we learn and work and play. Amen!’”

Read the whole thing.

Kristen Wetherell is the author of Teach Me to Pray: Praying God’s Word from A to Z which we recommended earlier this year at The Family Table.

We hope your family eats it right up.

Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor