We, at Trinity, have a passion to build families around the Word of God and grow, from children through senior adults, in the depth of our understanding of the Word. We want to equip fathers to lead their homes in family worship and to be the spiritual leaders of their homes. We want to grow ministry minded mothers who see the development of their children's spiritual walk as their personal mission field. We want to encourage parents as they build their families on the Word of God.
Bro. Jeff Summers, our Family Equipping Pastor, has put together several seminars to help parents in recognizing milestones in their children's and family's lives and growing their children through several stages in their development. Please read through this blog from Bro. Jeff as he explains what each of these seminars will contain.
From Bro. Jeff:
At Trinity, our desire and mission is to train, encourage,
and equip parents to be the primary faithbuilders in their child’s life. One of the ways we do this is to provide
Milestone classes throughout the year.
What does this mean?
Every person growing in Christ experiences similar markers
that are times of celebration. These
markers, or milestones are points of progression in a child’s and family’s
growth spiritually. At each one of these milestones, we are providing one
session parent seminars designed to equip parents to lead their children toward
their next milestone of spiritual development.
These seminars will provide important information regarding what the
parents can expect from children in the near future along with how to lead them
spiritually. Parents will receive
important resources to assist them in leading their children as they grow. For
example, seminars will address how to lead faith talks at every age level;
exploring what core competencies children need to learn regarding biblical and
doctrinal truths; how our church and our children’s ministry will partner with parents
to equip them to grow, and how our church will assist parents with these core
competencies.
The following are brief descriptions of the milestones. Included in the descriptions are what will be
covered in the seminar and dates for the class.
Milestone 1: Birth of a Child
This milestone corresponds to parents who have recently had
a child. If you are planning to dedicate
your child through our Parent-Child Dedication service, then this class is
mandatory.
In this seminar, we will be reviewing God’s goal for your
child and your family, how to shepherd them to the Lord and know His ways
during their preschool years, how to build a spiritual foundation in a
preschooler’s life, and characteristics of families who build their family on
the Gospel.
This class will be offered on October 21, 2012 at 9 am in
Room 509 or on October 24, 2012 at 6 pm in Room 509. The
Parent-Child Dedication Celebration service will be on November 4, 2012.
Milestone 2: First Bible
This is a key milestone as children move from the life of
preschool to 1st grade. This
is the point that their little lives open up to a new world of school, new
friends, and growth. Books and the Bible
become things they can interact with in a greater way as they learn to read.
With so many Bibles available everywhere, we may miss the significance of a
child owning his or her own Bible. In
this seminar, we will address not only the importance of Scripture reading,
family worship, faith talks and faith walks, but will provide helpful resources
for families to get started and continue teaching their children. In addition,
you will become acquainted with core competencies growing kindergarteners and
first graders will need to know.
This class will be offered on Sunday, September 30, 2012 at
9 am in Room 509.
Milestone 3: Faith Commitment
This milestone focuses on children who are close to placing
their faith in Christ, or they have placed their faith in Christ. In this course, we will explore how to know
when a child is ready to receive Christ as Lord, how to guide a child through
the decision to receive Christ as Lord, understanding baptism, core
competencies, how to disciple your child, and how to lead faith talks. Again,
helpful resources and tools will be shared with parents.
This seminar will be offered on Sunday, December 2, 2012 at
9 am in Room 509.
Milestone 4: PreTeen Passage
As children hit their 5th and 6th
grade years, their lives are a shot-gun blast of change, choices, and
challenge. They are confronted more and
more with temptations and choices than ever before. They will look increasingly
to their peers and will begin to want to pull away and “be too cool” to be with
parents: they want to see what they can
do on their own. Yet, at the same time,
they will look to you as parents for encouragement, guidance, and even
correction. As a parent of a pre-teen, you will remain their most influential
person in their lives even in their teenage years. Studies of youth bear this
out. As parents, this is the time to
walk with them through all these changes. These years are such an important
time to prepare them for adolescence and the relevance of Christ in their daily
lives. This seminar will address how to
adjust family worship and faith talks as they mature, purity issues and dating,
biblical manhood and womanhood. In
addition, you will receive helpful resources and tools to prepare you as you
set out to guide your children to grow in Christ.
This seminar will be offered on Sunday, November 11, 2012 at
9 am in Room 509.
Please make plans to attend these seminars as is appropriate
for the age/stage of the children in your home.
In addition, go to www.trinitysouthaven.org
and click on Children’s Ministry to find more information on training and
resources.
