The Family Table

Dear LEFC Parents,

Welcome to 2025! Here are some nourishing items to set the table for disciple-making in your family this week.

You’re Invited to Family Night!

Join us for Family Night on the evening of February 21st! We’ll have a time of fellowship together as families of LEFC playing games and socializing. Keep an eye out here for more details coming soon!

Register for Summer Camp!

Has your child ever considered attending a summer camp at Miracle Mountain Ranch? Now is a great time to think about registering for one of their various camps, as those who sign up by February 1st will receive a discount. Camps are available starting at age 6. Visit their website to learn more about camp offerings, dates, and costs. See Marilynn Kristofits with questions or for more information!

Easter Egg Hunt 2025

Mark your calendars now for the LEFC Easter Egg Hunt on April 19th, the day before Easter. Be thinking about how you might want to volunteer to help out in various ways. We will also be looking for donations of candy and prizes when the time comes.

Family Discipleship Conference

Pathway Church writes, “Join us for our 3rd Annual Family Discipleship Conference sponsored by Geneva College. For this year’s event we’ve invited back Cornerstone Wellness, who joined us at our first ever conference! This will be a day full of practical learning, fellowship with other parents, and encouragement for you and your family as we seek to support one another in parenting and discipling our kids to know and love Jesus. The event will take place February 1st from 9am-1pm. The cost is $20/individual and $30/couple. Our youth ministry will be offering a one-day VBS childcare option as a fundraiser for their upcoming Summer Mission trips (requested donation is $10/kid, please pay in-person at registration on February 1. We will accept credit card, check or cash). Registration is now open at familyatpathway.com.”

We would love to see parents from LEFC attend this valuable event. Maybe join up with another family to carpool together, or make it a day out for mom and dad! More information can be found at the link above.

Volunteer Opportunities for Family Bible Week

Family Bible week will be held July 7-13, 2025. We have several volunteer opportunities that we would love for some of our LEFC parents to fill. We need teachers and helpers for nursery, Pre-K-K, 1st-3rd, and 4th-6th, members of the decorating team, kitchen help, games helpers, members of the worship rally team, photography/videography, security, and a finale team. See Jordyn Skacel if you have interest in filling any of these vital roles, or to get more information about each.

“Building the Tabernacle” 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 “Building the Tabernacle” (Volume 1: Unit 5: 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…

This week’s recommendation for family discipleship is a couple of excellent little books to help young people understand the changes that come with puberty and make good choices as their bodies grow into maturity.

Is there anything more awkward to talk about than puberty? 

On Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, we are reminded of the beautiful and mysterious process that God has designed to produce new humans (see Psalm 139:14!). Yet even though we know it’s God’s good idea, it still can be hard to talk about, especially with our children as their young bodies begin to change.

Two Christian pediatricians, Chris Richards and Liz Jones, have done us all a great service by writing a set of books called Growing Up God’s Way. 

Drs. Richards and Jones speak directly to the young people about what they can expect to happen to their bodies, their thinking, and their feelings as they mature. They use simple, tasteful, and understandable words that explain these things clearly while setting them in the context of biblical teaching on sexuality.

And, yes, there are pictures! Both books include accurate biological drawings and gentle cartoon illustrations to aid understanding. It is very tastefully done. While each book focuses on a particular gender, they also helpfully explain what is happening to the members of the opposite sex.

Heather and I (Pastor Matt) read these books to our kids when they hit that age (10-14) and kept them on the shelf for reference long afterward. We highly recommend them for teaching the facts of life to the next generation of Christians.

– Learn more about Lovewise the ministry the authors work with which helps parents, youth groups and schools on the subjects of marriage, sex and relationships from a Christian perspective.
– Download a sample of the boys’ book.
– Download a sample of the girls’ book.

Growing Up God’s Way for Girls and Growing Up God’s Way for Boys are both available for checkout from the church library.

We hope your family eats them right up!

Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor