Every year there will be opportunities for our church that will allow us to see where we are in buying into our mission, vision, and direction. There are times where we will be able to evaluate just how serious we are about reaching “those yet to come” for Jesus Christ. We will be able to answer the questions, “do we live with a consumer mind set or a Kingdom mindset?” Are we willing to make sacrifices with our own wants, needs and desires in order to change lives in our surrounding communities? Do we want to continue to see young families with children pouring through our doors creating an energizing presence and building blocks for our future?
Old Fort Church decided 13 years ago when we started new styles of worship that we didn’t want to die. We began the belief system that if we were going to not only survive but thrive that we would have to embrace innovation. We could no longer make decisions based on the 7 words of the dying church “we’ve never done it that way before.” So we revitalized our children’s ministries and developed programming to reach out and encourage younger families. We created worship celebrations that spoke the language of the culture. As a result, we have seen an outpouring and steady flow of new families with children flocking to the church over the years.
In May we are going to continue this trend with a new sermon series called The Parent Trap. It will be a five week series that engages many of the issues, difficulties, and struggles that parents deal with today. It will cover varying topics that have been a major part of my families journey and heart ache as parents, such as; infertility, adoption, challenging children, getting more than we bargained for, and daring to discipline. We will be able to distribute our sermon series fliers to the children and families of Old Fort Schools, to our preschool, and to our friends and families that we know who would jump at an opportunity like this. This is an extremely relevant topic that so many families and parents are starving for. Parents are looking for guidance, searching for hope, and desperate for encouragement. It is a topic that most people wouldn’t expect the local church to spend a 5 week series on and that is exactly why we are going to do it.
I know what you’re thinking. But pastor, I am a college student. I am retired and my kids no longer live with us. I am single or married and don’t have any children. What about me? Every single one of us has been parented at some point in time. We have all been impacted by parents. We are all currently connected to friends and family that are parenting children. Some of us will be parents in the future. Let’s not forget the fact that we have a God who is our spiritual parent. God will and can challenge everyone through this series no matter where you are in life. If you walk into this series with the belief that God will bless you through it, then He will do just that. If you walk into this series with the mindset that it is not for you and that you’re not going to get anything out of it, then guess what, you won’t and you will be miserable.
I encourage all of us to do the opposite of looking at our own feelings and what “I” am going to get out of this. Let us continue the passion for growing our church, meeting the needs of others, and designing worship experiences not only for us, but for “those yet to come.” Let us continue to reach out into our future and believe as I do that this series will change lives and reach people for Jesus Christ. God wants to use you to impact others lives. Who do you know that has children or grandchildren that are struggling with the issues of parenting? Who have you been investing in that you can invite to this sermon series? How can all of us get excited about this and the impact it will have for years to come as God continues to shape our church.
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