How do we connect church and home? That’s a question many of us leading family ministries across the country are asking. What seems like an easy task is actually pretty difficult. Our team at Grace Community has been working on the process in our church culture for seven years and yes it is still in process! This week I had the chance to read Dr. Tim Kimmel’s new book called Connecting Church & Home. You can click on the graphic and go check it out on Amazon. If you work with the next generation this is a must read this year.
Many of you know I work with a team of people across the country who are thinking ORANGE. That simply means we want to connect the home (Red) with the family (Yellow) to create a unique partnership (Orange) where the church and home gain combined influence for a greater impact! For any leader out there who is processing how to make this happen you need to know Dr. Kimmel lays out some incredible thoughts on how to carry this process out with families. Connecting Church and Home is not just a book for church leaders, it’s a book made for parents so they can see their role in leading their family. The book invites us to explore a family ministry strategy built around God’s power and grace and not just on the efforts of parents or pastors. I hope you will check the book out. Even as I was reading it I was able to see some things we need to work on with our team. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book…
- We need to realize the truth: that the deliberate efforts of a lay-level parent, who only brings a passionate love for Jesus and a passionate desire to pass that love on to their children, can eclipse the most sophisticated efforts of the best seminary-trained professional a church could find.
- Strong churches don’t make strong families. Strong families make string churches.
- The role of a parent is to connect to the heart of his or her child in such a way he or she prepares that child to more easily connect to the heart of God.
- The goal of a church’s family ministry is to connect to the heart of each individual family leader in such a way that is better prepares those parents to develop a heart connection to their kids that subsequently inclines those kids towards a deeper love for the Lord and kindness toward others.
- Effective family ministry isn’t about blame or guilt: it’s about hope.
I highlighted so much more in the book but I had a hard copy not a Kindle copy…sorry for the lack of notes! Great book that will push you to evaluate your family ministry.
