Gather Around

Gather Around - helping families live their faith

  


Instead of Kid City focusing on a ministry for kids, Student Community only focusing on ministry for students, and everyone else focusing on their ministry, we have decided to focus our energy on coming together to build strong homes that live out their faith.

Does that mean we will no longer have Kid City or Student Community?  We still believe in the importance of designing worship and activities that are age appropriate for kids and students, but more importantly, we realize we need everyone to come together so that we can make a lasting difference in the lives of our kids and teens.   

We want to help families live their faith by creating a family environment that supports the home in faith development.  We want to partner with families.  We want to come along side them to provide support, encouragement, and resources for marriage, parenting, and mentoring kids and students today. We want to equip families with spiritual formation and family life skills, and we want to equip families to serve.

Our hope is that together we can learn how to share in God’s Story.  Together we can learn how to serve, and together we can live for God. 

Seeking Jesus - Our Lenten Journey

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent.  Lent is a forty day period of preparation in anticipation of Holy Week and Easter.  The forty day journey is a time to focus on Jesus and how much we need grace in our lives in order to live a transformed life that reflects God’s love. 

Throughout church history, Christians have used these forty days to look at habits, attitudes, and behaviors that may need to change in order to draw closer to God.  Many people give up something to draw closer to God during this season, and they may take on a new spiritual discipline such as prayers of repentence, spiritual journaling, and acts of service.  

Click on the logo above or here to find a number of resources and opportunities that we hope will enable you to seek Jesus and move closer to Him during this Lent season. 

 

Summer Serve 2012

When:  July 9-14, 2012
Destination:  Newark, Ohio
Who is invited?  Students, parents, and any adults interested in urban missions

Students, parents, and adults are invited to serve this summer, July 9-14.  This year we will be serving in our local community.  Our group will help  with a variety of projects including kids’ camp, construction and renovation projects, and community service projects. 

 Important: 

• To participate, students must complete the 6th grade by the summer of 2012.
• Students 6th—8th grade must have an adult sponsor.

Get all the details by attending our informational meeting on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:15 PM - 6:45 PM at Williams Street.  

Marriage Mentors Needed

Consider serving by joining our marriage mentor team.  Our marriage mentor team builds into the lives of other couples to strengthen marriages today.  Marriage Mentoring Team members receive training and resources to focus on either helping newly married couples, couples who desire to strengthen their marriage, or couples who are working to repair their marriage.

Being a marriage mentor does not mean your marriage is perfect, but it does mean that you are striving to have a healthy marriage and you desire to help other couples to strengthen their marriage. 

How do I sign up or get more information? 

If you and your spouse are interested in making a difference in the lives of other couples, please complete the Marriage Mentor Application and email it to Tevis Austin or get more information by emailing Tevis Austin or call Tevis at 740-258-3001. 

 

Grace Based Parenting - starts January 18

When:  Wednesdays, January 18 – April 25 (7:00 PM – 8:15 PM)

Location:  Williams Street – Fellowship Hall

Cost:  $10 (Grace Based Parenting Workbook)/$15 (Grace Based Parenting Book)

Register by January 15 online here or by using a Connection Card at each of our locations.  For more information regarding the material or using the material in a small group, contact Tevis Austin.

Grace Based Parenting is new study designed to help moms and dads love their kids the way God loves us – with grace.  It gives parents a realistic job description for raising spiritually strong kids who grow up with purpose and hope.  No matter the health or dynamics of your family situation, Grace Based Parenting helps parents to parent with confidence, to meet the driving inner needs of kids, and to teach kids to choose better friends and make wiser choices.  The video study is taught by Dr. Tim Kimmel, writer of bestsellers Little House on the Freeway and Raising Kids Who Turn Out Right and founder of Family Matters. 

The class will be led by our Family Ministries Pastor Tevis Austin and Pete Flavin.   For more info visit http://lifeready.com/gracebasedparenting.   

Questions:  Contact Tevis Austin (tevis@newarknaz.org or at 740-258-3001)

theParentLink (teen edition)

The Parent Link is a great resource designed to engage and equip all parents as it address issues specifically related to raising kids spiritually today.  Each issues addresses practical ideas related to teachable moments, family experiences, and media and games. 

The Parent Link for parents of kids is for parents or preschool - sixth graders.

The Parent Link for parents of teens is for parents of 7th - 12th graders.

Click on the titles on the sidebar to download current and past issues.

 

 

Family Life e-Mentoring

FamilyLife eMentoring is an anonymous, online mentoring community with custom-matched confidants who offer similar past experience and a biblically-based perspective.  Go to www.familylife.com/ementoring where you can submit an email to request a mentor. 

Request a Marriage Mentor

We realize that there may be couples who would like to have someone available to talk with them for encouragement and support.  We have a marriage mentor team that is available to help couples who are newly married, couples who want to strengthen their marriage, or couples who need support as they face challenges. 

How do I request a marriage mentor?
You must complete a Marriage Mentoree Application to request a marriage mentor.  Complete the application and email it to Tevis Austin.  You can also contact the church office at 740-344-2651 to request an application.  After the application is received, marriage mentors are assigned according to the number of requests and availability. 

Reading the Story Together

Here are some practical examples and resources for families interested in reading Scripture together. 

My First Message provides a great way for families with young kids to read the Bible.  The stories cover many of the main stories of Scripture and the readings are from The Message.  This devotional tool has great pictures.  Each devotional contains questions, an activity, and suggestions for prayer.

 

 

 

 

 

  The Kids Devotional Bible works well for families with children who like to read.  The translation is the NIRV (New International Readers Version) designed for young readers.  There are devotionals for an entire year that can take your family through the entire Bible.  Consider getting your kids The Adventure Bible (NIRV).   Help your kids learn how to look up the Scriptures.   As you start a new book of the Bible, read the informatoin about the book.  Teach your kids to memorize the books of the Bible by having them recite the books in order each time you do a devotional.  Have kids read the Scripture from The Adventure Bible, and then read the devotional in the Kid's Devotional Bible.  There are questions with the devotional.  Then pray together as a family.

The Adventure Bible for Early Readers is a great resource to get young readers to start reading and learning the Bible.  Consider using it with the Kid's Devotional Bible for family devotions.  See above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hands On Bible is loaded with activities for kids and parents to do together.  There are key verse activities for each week of the year.  You will have online access to family devotions and a Bible reading plan at MyHandsOnBible.com.    There are fun facts and hands on Bible experiences. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Family Reading Bible is designed to help parents use the Bible as a family devotional tool.   There is a reading system with three easy to use paths which allow parents to accomodate children of different ages and stages.  I like to especially recommend this Bible for families with older elementary students and teens. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Youth & Family Institute offers Taking Faith Home, a weekly resource designed with scripture readings, prayers, devotions, rituals, and serving ideas for families.  Click on the weekly links by date located on the right side bar to download this resource.

 

 Note:  There are links to each of the resources in the post by clicking on the pictures located on the right side bar. 

33%

33%

"That's how much more likely your child will be to have sex as a teen if he watches TV and movies geared toward adults before age 8."     (parenting.com   august 2009)

If Jesus Were a Parent - Coaching Your Child to Follow Jesus

If Jesus were a Parent - Hal Perkins

If Jesus were a parent, would He use the same principles He used with His disciples? 

Exploring the principles found in the Gospels, Hal Perkins helps parents put them into practice.  He shows how to lead a child's heart into obedience through a constant context of parental grace and honesty.  With illustrations on how to establish God's truth - about Him, about right relationships, about abundant life - parents will discover how to empower their children to connect with Jesus and follow Him with passion.

Click here to order or simply go to www.halperkins.com. 

You can also find other resources for parents on the right side bar.