Your Greatest Ministry is at Home

I was reading a blog today by Dale Hudson who has spent 22 years in ministry. He listed 10 leadership tips for leaders, specifically for leaders in children's ministry. One of the tips that caught my eye was the statement, "Your greatest ministry is at home." The reason I love this tip so much is because it is true for all people in ministry, not just leaders. Now some may be thinking, "well I'm not in ministry", but guess what.... if you are a Christian you ARE in ministry. We are told to make disciples and share the good news of the grace and redemption we ourselves received through our Lord Jesus Christ. This statement is saying that God has trusted us with a family, and that family is our greatest ministry. Here are some reasons why.

1. We know them! We typically know them best because we spend the most time with them! Why does that matter? Because we already have an unconditional love for them (agape), like the unconditional love God has for us! If we are not ministering to the people we love unconditionally, how are we going to minster to people we love brotherly? (philía)
2. The family unit is God's design. God has put each member of your family together purposefully, and there  is a reason that God created us in the first place. If we look back to Genesis we can see it has always been about community. We were told to multiply and fill the earth (Gen 1:28), even after the fall and the flood (Gen 9:1). It is no wonder our greatest ministry is at home, it is God's plan for families to be discipleship groups, coming together in the home and being discipled so that the individual members can disciple others.
3. We cannot disciple others if we do not disciple our families. I often quote Deuteronomy 6:5-7, which explains our responsibilities as parents. Verse 5 is the verse that Jesus quoted when asked what is the greatest commandment. What follows is the instructions on what to do with the greatest commandment, which is to impress (teach) them on your children. If we are willing to do this for others but not to those in our families then we are forgetting our primary responsibility.

So whats next? What does this look like? I can tell you that it is not necessary to come up with a strict and rigid plan to have a formal bible study every night, week, etc. The Deuteronomy passage is telling us that we just need to spend time with our families. That our conversations show and demonstrate our faith, and we share what God has done in our lives, or what they learned at church this past weekend, or what they may learn the coming up weekend, and more. The key is for them to see you're not a robot or burnt out when you are home. Make sure your family doesn't get the leftovers, because your day was filled with activity with other people. Take your day off and take vacation time, who you are is more important that what you do. God wants us to take care of our families, which is why our greatest ministry is at the home.

A Great Way to Lead Spiritually in 2012

It's a new world, And a bold world, And I'm feeling good, Stars when you shine, You know what I mean, Scent of the pine, You know what I mean, Oh freedom is all mine, And I know what I mean, Well it's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life for me, Well it's a new dawn, It's a new day, And I'm feeling good!

These song lyrics express the way I view my life as a spiritual leader of a thirteen (soon to be 14) year old boy. Being the parent of a teenager is a new world and a bold world indeed! But I'm feeling good! Why you may ask? Because I know that I am the spiritual leader of his life, and I am confident in knowing I am in Christ and He is in me, and my son sees that. Those of you who know me understand that I want the church to partner with the parents, so that the parent can become the spiritual leader of their kids lives. You as a parent spend more time with your child than a pastor, teacher, or church volunteer, so it makes sense for the church to do all it can in assisting the parent. One of the greatest ways that this can happen is to volunteer in your child's Sunday morning classroom periodically. This can be once a month, once a quarter, maybe even once a year. Here are some reasons why this is one of the most benificial things you can do as a parent:

1.  Your kids will enjoy it! I know some of you are thinking, "my kids don't want me anywhere near their classroom!" I will have to disagree with that statement. I think when kids know that you have an interest in what they learn they will know it is important! They may not say or show their appreciation, but they will know you want to be involved in their spiritual lives.
2. You can see and hear what and how they are learning! We do everything we can to inform the parents what there child is learning, especially with the Yak Paks that we provide. However, being in the classroom allows you to see how the children act and respond to the lessons. You may even be surprised with the volunteer talent we have. 
3. You will be contributing to the ministry you're already a part of! If you're a parent with kids that attend any of our Next Gen classes or programs, then you are part of the Next Gen Ministry. We love when our parents invest in the ministry they are a part of. We look at our parents as owners of the ministry!
4. It Keeps the ministry alive! Things that are dead are no use to us. Our lives are new in Christ and our old useless selves are dead. When you volunteer (even on a very limited basis like once a quarter) you keep the ministry alive! This is because when we all volunteer burnout does not happen. Volunteers remain fresh and alive, enabling them to be more creative and productive when it is there turn to serve.

One thing I want to leave you with is this, IF YOU ARE NOT PASSIONATE OR DO NOT FEEL LED TO VOLUNTEER, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO! Our goal is not to have parents volunteer because they feel they have to. We are all under grace, and guilt has no place in the kingdom. When my son went to a private christian school I was required to volunteer a certain number of hours or pay $200 at the end of the year (Feel free to do the same for us, we can use camp scholarships! ....joke). So what I did was find things I was interested in doing that made it fun, (help the class with hand motions to songs, coach basketball, etc). So my hope is that each parent can find something that they love to do, and make it a goal in 2012 to get involved. I look forward to working and partnering with all the parents this year!