The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: The Biggest Story
January 21, 2024
Dear LEFC Parents,
Here are some key things to keep in mind as you set the table for family discipleship in your home this week:
Challenge Conference Interest Meeting
There will be a brief informational meeting after church next week, the 28th (in the auditorium before the church family meeting). The EFCA Challenge conference is for students in current grades 6-12 and runs July 1-5 in Kansas City, MO. Any eligible students and their parents are invited to attend and find out more, ask questions, etc. See Cody and Holly Crumrine for more information.
Coming Soon: “Chasing Love” – Bible Study for Teens
Keith Hurley has prepared another class for the youth of our church. Chasing Love: Sex, Love, and Relationships in a Confused Culture will start on January 28th and run for 9 weeks on Sunday evenings at 7pm in the upstairs Youth Room. Parents are welcome and invited to participate, too.
Summer Camp at Miracle Mountain Ranch
If you want the best discount, now’s the time to register for camp. Talk to Marilynn Kristofits about the cost, deadlines, and details.
New Leaders in Family Ministries
Holly Crumrine, Jordyn Skacel, and Vicky Albert have begun serving as the Interim Family Ministries Leadership Team while we continue our search for a part-time Director of Family Ministry. If you have questions, ideas, or concerns about ministry to children, youth, and parents, please see one of them.
The Gospel Project at Home
Today’s Bible Study is “The Holy Spirit Changes Us” (Volume 10: Unit 29: Session 4). 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 one of the LEFC elders and their wives (and sometimes guest preachers?!) about the message.
And for dessert…
Our recommendation for family discipleship this week is a suite of free resources based on the “Biggest Story” Bible Storybook.
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook is 104 colorful re-tellings of engaging Bible stories from Kevin DeYoung (author) and Don Clark (illustrator). We have a copy of this beautiful 528 page book in our church library.
Now those 104 stories are becoming available as a podcast for your kids (and you) to listen to wherever you are and a video channel with animated films! Episodes come out on Wednesdays.
The videos are about 5 minutes long and include animated versions of the delightful artwork of the book with British author Michael Reeves narrating. The podcast episodes are about 10 minutes long. Not only do they have the story read by Michael Reeves but they include more content for your kids to understand and apply the story, including relevant Bible memory verses. Perfect length for a car ride to or from school or sports practice.
This week’s story is about Josiah, “The Boy Who Sought the Lord” in 2 Chronicles 34. [VouTube. Apple Podcast, Spotify.] If your kids are loving it, they also have printable coloring and activity pages to download for all 104 stories, too. [FAQ Page.]
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!