CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." 

Ephesians 6:4
May I ask you a  question? When you stand before God on judgement day, who is God going to hold responsible for the discipleship of your children? The Pastor? The Youth Pastor? The Sunday School teacher? May I ask you a slightly different question? What does God's word say about who is responsible for the discipleship of  children? 

PARENTS , SCRIPTURE & DISCIPLESHIP

Throughout the witness of Scripture, the parents are commanded to be the primary disciplers of their children (Gen 18:19; Deut 6:5-7, 32:46-47; Prov 3:1, 4:1, 10, 20; 5:1, 7; 6:20; 7:1; 13:24, 22:15, 29:15, 17; Ps 78:1-8;  Eph 6:1-4; 2 Tim 1:5). Now, this does not mean that parents are the only disciplers, but the Bible is clear who should be primarily and consistently teaching and training the children: the parents.

THE STATE OF CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

In 2007, the largest protestant seminary in the world conducted a massive research project, called the Family Needs Survey, to understand just how involved Christian parents are in the discipleship of their children. The project was completed in 2008, and the results may surprise you. 
1. More than 50% the parents said their family never or rarely engaged in any sort of devotional time.
2. Approximately 40% of parents never, rarely, or only occasionally discussed spiritual matters.
3. Nearly 25% of parents rarely or never prayed with their children, and another 25% only prayed with their children occasionally. 
Later, another study conducted by the same faculty revealed that
1. More than 33% of parents with school aged children had never engaged in any form of family worship or devotion times in the past few months.
2. Of the 66% that did engaged some discussion about the Bible with their children, the frequency was once a month or less.
3. 20% parents never read, studied, or discussed the Bible with their children. 
Even children who are active in the church receive about 40 hours of biblical teaching each year from their church. Parents, on the other hand, have more than 3,000 hours a year in which they are constantly teaching their children in some way.

Can I ask you that sobering question again? When you stand before God on judgement day, who is God going to hold responsible for discipling your children? What does God's word say about who is responsible for the discipleship of  children? The church? The Youth Pastor? The Children's Ministry Director?

THE DISCIPLESHIP TRACK

The discipleship track is a perpetual discipleship program at Fireside where the parents lead in discipleship alongside their children. Rather than separate the children from their parents, we ask the parents join alongside their children to learn about God, the Bible, and how to follow him faithfully. The parents are equipped with the same resources the children, and then the parents are encouraged to continue discipleship with the same resources. Just like Lois discipled Eunice, who in turn discipled Timothy. The parents take the lead in passing on the sincere faith that dwells in the next generation (2 Tim 1:5).
The first phase consists of years 1-3, and it lays the foundations of the Christian life: reading the Bible well, doing the basic of spiritual disciplines, and sharing the gospel with a lost and dying world. The second phase consists of biblical literacy. This is where disciples get a feel of how the entire bible fits together, the overall story line of the Bible, and bring able to trace where Jesus is in all of redemptive history. The final phase consists of how to live the Christian life in a practical and daily manner: speech, leadership, manhood and womanhood, and sexuality and relationships. After the discipleship track is complete, it resumes again and starts the process again. 

Get Information About the Discipleship Track

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Get Info About the Discipleship Track