TFT: The Found Boys
May 24, 2026
Family Bible Week 2026: Coming Up Soon!
Family Bible week is fast approaching! We’ll kickoff the week together on June 14th during church with a kickoff picnic after and gather Monday through Thursday at 6:15 for Bible teaching, singing, fun and fellowship. We’ll be shining a light on who Jesus really is at our Illumination Station! Mark your calendars now to join us, and spread the word to invite your friends, too!
Junior Youth Group
We have exciting news for kids who will be in grades 4-6 next year! We’re upgrading Snack and Yack into a brand new ministry: Junior Youth Group! We’re excited to bring students a full evening meeting, not just a few minutes after church, where they can learn, grow, foster friendships, and take new steps in their faith. Beginning May 31st, the Snack and Yack ministry will cease as we prepare to launch our Junior Youth Group in the fall, led by Curtis Quick and Marilynn Kristofits! We encourage you to get your students excited for this brand new ministry. More details are still to come!
Finding a Way Through (Dis)Information Overload
Do you find yourself often wrapped up in an overload of competing opinions, various “camps” that people sort themselves into, or trying to decipher fact from fiction (or AI) when engaging with news, social media, or the internet? Maybe you’ve felt this in your personal conversations as well when you discover that someone has dramatically different views from your own and you find it hard to engage with them.
In the brief article Finding a Way Through (Dis)Information Overload from The Gospel Coalition Australia, Kevin Young gives us three wise steps to help wade through the waters of the information we are fed each day by news outlets, social media, advertising, and even personal conversations.
Christian friends, we must be wise and discerning when it comes to the information we are allowing to influence our beliefs, relationships, and decisions. We must seek to sort out truth from merely convincing propaganda. As the article writes, “The modern plague of misinformation and disinformation truly affects everyone. These steps may not solve all social dissonance, but are surely a step in the right direction. The truth is at stake. Our integrity as people of truth is at stake. The reputation of the gospel is at stake.” We encourage you to give the article a read and prayerfully consider what action steps you might need to take in your own life.
You might notice a few words in the article are spelled different from the American spelling. These are not typos or a misspelling, they are alternate spellings, as the article was published by TGC Australia.
Child Protection Policy Parent Meetings
Are you a parent of an LEFC child? 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 to introduce you to the new policy and the changes that it will bring. We will share important information with you and answer any questions you may have so that you feel informed and equipped. Our last parent meeting will be May 31st after church. Parents, if you have not yet attended a meeting to receive information pertaining to changes you can expect in June, we strongly encourage you to stay after church on the 31st. If you are unable to attend on this date, please speak with Jordyn Skacel.
Helping Your Kids Move Beyond Bible Stories
Tiny Theologians recently published a blog post about building Biblical literacy in your kids. They write, “Most Christian parents want their children to know the Bible. We read storybook Bibles before bed, play Scripture songs in the car, memorize verses together, and faithfully bring our children to church each week. These things matter deeply. Children should grow up hearing the stories of Scripture often. But there is an important difference between knowing Bible stories and developing biblical literacy.”
In this blog post, they detail the importance of your children understanding the big story of scripture, connecting these stories and characters together to get the big picture of God’s redemptive plan. While learning stories is important and necessary to our understanding, without connecting them to the larger story kids can sometimes merely come away with isolated moral lessons. We encourage you to take just a few minutes to check it out and consider how you might further nurture your child’s Biblical understanding.
This Week’s Challenge: Family Bible Week Invitations
Family Bible week is fast approaching. We’re just three weeks away from our kickoff Sunday! At this year’s Illumination Station, we will shine a light on who Jesus really is. We’re excited for your children to participate. We don’t want to stop there, though. We want their friends and other family to come, too!
Today, invitations were handed out at church for kids to pass out to their friends. We encourage you to think of friends and family who you might want to invite: your child’s class at school, cousins, their sports team, neighbors, the dance team, the kids at the bus stop. This week’s challenge is to hand out those invitations to the people you think of. Encourage them to join you for the week. Parents, don’t forget to invite their parents to join us as well for our Parent class.
Did you miss church today and need invitations? Contact Jordyn Skacel to arrange getting some!
“Jesus’ Ministry Continues” 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 “John Pointed to Jesus” (Volume 7: Unit 21: Session 4), 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 rollicking action story especially good for the pre-teen boy(s) in your home.
I (Pastor Matt) read a really fun book this week–The Found Boys by S.D. Smith. It’s about three very unlikely friends who end up on a life-changing adventure together set in the early 1980’s (back when I was boy!). It is funny, unpredictable, and deeply meaningful. While telling an exciting story, it also explores deep Christian themes including forgiveness, reconciliation, and friendship. The line drawings by artist Anthony VanAsrdale make the story even more unforgettable.
It’s not for really young boys as the main characters encounter scary situations, violence, and overt racism in the American South. But I loved it, and I’m sure that most of the older boys in our church will, too.
The publisher describes it this way:
“The Found Boys is a thrilling throwback buddy adventure for young readers. Amid the abundant humor and action, the story explores deep themes of forgiveness and reconciliation in age—appropriate ways.
The mission was supposed to be fun—even funny—but things got serious quick. What follows is a daring journey with narrow escapes, attack dogs, deadly fires, and a friendship forged in shared peril.
Three friends embark on an intrepid quest to retrieve a priceless treasure guarded by a menacing villain. But this is no fantasy. For Scott and his friends Tommy and Dooley, the danger is all too real. Unlikely heroes will emerge. Enemies will become allies. Powerful truths will be revealed.”
I’m not the only one that loved it. The Found Boys was a finalist for the 2024 Christianity Today Book Award for Young Adults and honorable mention for World Magazine’s 2024 Best Children’s Fiction Novel.
– Watch S.D. Smith (author of the Green Ember series) share the heart behind the story.
– The Found Boys is available for check-out from the LEFC Library.
We hope your family eats it right up!
Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor