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!