Family Connection
05.24.2012
“Be like the Son of Man.
He did not come to be served.
Instead, He came to serve others.
He came to give His life as the price for setting many people free.’”-Matthew
20:28
When we adopted our daughter Sofie from China in December
2006, she was 7 years old and didn’t know any English (that was okay though
because we didn’t know any Chinese either).
She is amazing and before long she was able to speak well enough so we
could communicate. It was pretty amazing
actually to see how quickly she learned.
One of the first things she started saying to us was, “do you need
help?” It was always heartwarming to
hear her say those words, “do you need help?”
Not only was she learning to speak English, she was learning one of the
values we have in the Humphrey house; the value of serving others.
Jesus thought this was pretty important! Not only did He say the words in Matthew
20:28, He also demonstrated the need to serve others when He washed the
disciples’ feet in John 13. Paul goes to
great lengths in Philippians 2 to communicate how important serving is and how
we should serve if we want to be like Jesus.
My favorite verse is Philippians 2:5 (if you ask me, I will show you the
motions I do with the verse) and I try to live it out as best I can. If we are followers of Jesus, serving is a
pretty big deal.
This is one of the core values we will teach the children
in this ministry as they are with us each week.
Because we are trying to help children become more like Jesus we will
provide opportunities to serve at home and at church. We also have opportunities for adults to
serve as well. What better way to teach
your children about following Jesus by modeling service to them. The wonderful thing about serving in
Children’s Ministry is you have the opportunity to serve where your children
can see you and they will feel special because dad and mom are serving in their
ministry area. I want to share with you
a short message Susan Cable shared with our current small group leaders in the
K-4th program. This will give
you an idea on what serving in this ministry can mean to children and families:
This
week I was asked about the expectations we have for the Trail Guides; what we
expect them to accomplish each weekend. I replied that building relationships
with the kids by showing them the unconditional love, grace, and acceptance of
Jesus is our goal. The activities are really a way for you to interact with
your kids and for them to interact with each other. Do I consider it a “win” if
they are able to recite the month’s memory verse and retell the week’s Bible
story to their parents? Of course. But an even bigger “win” is a child running
down the hall to give their Trail Guide a hug or a high five. Or relating a
story about how they put the monthly virtue or memory verse into action at
school or at home. Or bringing a friend to church because it’s so much fun and
they feel accepted and cared for here. If they stick around church long enough,
they will hear those memory verses and Bible stories over and over again. The
key is making them want to stick around. And when they are in their teen years
and making the decision of whether to follow Christ on their own, it won’t be
the verses and stories that nudge them in the right direction. It will be the
relationships they have built and the memories of those adults who brought
God’s love to life that seal the deal. At Sun Valley, we are about life change
and legacy – and that includes children’s ministry.
If I can be blunt…we need you! We need you to serve and make an eternal
impact in the lives of children and families.
I would ask you to take a free fall of faith and join this
ministry. Pray with your family and ask
God to help you step out and serve in this ministry. Please send me an email, bhumphrey@sunvalleycc.com , tweet
@humphrey_brett or message me on Facebook on the Sun Valley Kids page and I
will get you the information on how you can start serving.
This weekend in Elementary we are talking about Matthew
22:34-40 and how we can use our love to
make a difference. You can watch the
lesson if you follow this link: http://youtu.be/Ho-vLSm-Hto
In Early Childhood we will be teaching
the children the concept of It won’t always be
easy
to
do the right thing by looking at Daniel and the Lions Daniel 6:1-28
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with
you and your family as we learn how to follow Jesus together.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H
