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Take Back Our Teenagers
FamilyLink
Inside this issue:
Foundation Kids
Preschool
2
FoundationKids
1st-5th
3
Tool Time 3
FoundationStudents 4
FoundationFamiilies Ministry Calendar
5
Spotlight Mentors 6
January 2012 Volume 2, Issue 1
Family Ministry Staff:
Families Pastor - Mike Lehew,
FK Preschool Ministry Associate - Jackie
Brown, [email protected]
FK Wed. Night Preschool Assoc. - Bethany
Gertner, [email protected]
FK Preschool LG Associate - Trisha Keeth,
FK HisKids Preschool ClubHouse Assoc. -
Chelsey Farmer,
chelsey@ foundationchurch.com
FK Discipleship Associate - Sarah Harris,
FK Worship Assoc.- Natalie Turner,
FS Ministry Associate - Bob Thomason,
FS Ministry Associate - Heather Jackson,
To become BIBLICAL missionaries passionately
loving GOD
and compassionately loving
PEOPLE.
Serving in student ministry for the past 18 years, I have seen quite a bit. I have been through the highs and lows. I have seen many come to know Christ and I have seen many fall away from Christ. As students enter student ministry, a danger and possible epidemic I see is parents tend to have a hands-off approach regarding the spiritual direction of their teenager, hoping a youth group or other adults will help guide them for the next five to six years. I can understand how this happens. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, it seems that our once pre-cious children turn into aliens--creatures that have their own language, different looks, and odd body odor. How do we handle these "aliens?” How do we become missionaries in our household to those we love the most?
Pray for them - Get on our knees as parents and pray! Pray not just a sentence prayer, but in humility cry out to God for the protection of our teenagers.
Go to church with them - Don't just drop them off at the front door or in the Students Min-istry area. Every once in a while, go into their world. Much of what I hear from parents is, "My kid doesn't want me there." Can I ask you a question? Has your teenager ever told you they don't want you at their ballgame or concert? I would guess not. The enemy has planted this thought into the lives of parents thinking they shouldn't be involved in the spiritual lives of their kids.
Talk with the youth pastor or mentors who are directly involved in their spiritual lives - Have a serious sit-down talk with the Families Pastor, ask some questions and have him be honest: "How is my teenager doing when he/she comes to church?" "Where would you say he/she is spiritually?" Do not be offended by what he/she may say if you are really wanting the truth. “How can I get involved in the spiritual life of my teenager? How can I come alongside other students as well?”
Don't just rely on Sundays and Wednesdays to be the catch-all for your teenagers walk with Christ. - Out of the 168 hours a week, an average one to two of these hours are spent at the church and the rest in the world. Is Jesus your Lord? Is He truly present in your home? If a guest were to come into your home, would there be enough evidence through your speech and actions to let them know you are a passionate believer in Christ?
Examine your heart - Are you truly following Jesus or are you a counterfeit Chris-tian? Most teenagers mimic the behavior of who they are around and what they see. Are you presenting an accurate picture of Jesus to them?
Love them where they are - Do not get frustrated with them because they are not super spiritual.....remember they are still teenagers. Love them where they are, BUT don't leave them where they are. Talk to them about spiritual matters. Experience Jesus with them.
Encourage them to get plugged into the life of the whole church - Student Ministry, to some degree, has become a bubble and a separate church. I really don't think that is healthy. I love the fact that many of our students are serving alongside our wonderful adults in FoundationKids, FoundationStudents and Creative Arts. Maybe you could even serve together in an area of ministry.
Have authentic faith discussions - I am not talking about another sermon. Maybe at the dinner table you could share what God is doing in your life and what God is teaching you. Through your story they may be willing to see your example and then share what God is doing in their life.
As parents, we are in the trenches every day. Being a parent is one of the coolest responsibili-ties we have, but it is also one of our hardest responsibilities. Isn't it cool our God has entrusted us with such a great responsibility?
Page 2 FamilyLink
This month we will be following the same story lessons in both services on Sunday morning as well as on Wednesday night.
January 1 - one service - no classes January 8 - one service - no classes
January 15 - Jesus Surprises Nathaniel - John 1:43-51
January 22 - Disciples Follow Jesus - Mark 1:14-20
January 29 - Jesus Demonstrates His Authority - Mark 1:21-28
What are we Learning?
HisKids Mentors Needed: There are still some positions
available in the FoundationKids Pre-
School Department.
9:00am Service: Garden of Eden - 1 Mentor 10:45am Service: Ocean Room - 1 Mentor Sun, Moon & Stars - 2 Mentors Garden of Eden - 1 Mentor
FK Preschool Ministry Associate Jackie Brown.
HisKids ParentPartners Schedule for January
1-1-12 Heaven No Classes - 10:45 Family Worship Service Only
Ocean
Forest
Sun, Moon & Stars
Garden of Eden
1-8-12 Heaven No Classes - 10:45 Family Worship Service Only
Ocean
Forest
Sun, Moon & Stars
Garden of Eden
1-15-2012 Heaven Jim Gattis
Ocean Mike Lehew
Forest Mike and Natalie Fabry
Sun, Moon & Stars Beverly Teague
Garden of Eden Jessica Morton
1-22-12 Heaven Troy and Molly Sartors
Ocean Joseph and Korrine Dandy
Forest Nathan and Amber Wilson
Sun, Moon & Stars Opportunity Available
Garden of Eden Jeff and April Benoit
1-29-12 Heaven Lisa Wolf
Ocean Pete and Shannon Carter
Forest Warren and Susan Hood
Sun, Moon & Stars Tim Wolf
Garden of Eden John and Julia Ritchey
FoundationFamilies
With the new name of the church comes new names for our Family Ministries! The umbrella of all of our families will be FoundationFami-lies. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and all of them fall under FoundationFamilies. FoundationKids encompasses Birth-5th Grade. Within FoundationKids are the
“environments” of HisKids LifeGroups, HisKids Clubhouse, InnerMission, etc. FoundationStudents will cover 6th-12th Grade including Revolution and The Bridge! We are so excited to see what God is going to do through FoundationFamilies!
How to stay plugged in: There‟s so much information on the goings-on of FoundationFamilies, so how can parents stay plugged in? Check out our resources for FoundationKids:
FoundationKids on Facebook - just search for “Foundation Kids” and ask to join the group.
FamilyLink - Monthly newsletter with a Family Ministry Calendar of Events. Lost your copy? Find it online at foundationchurch.com.
Wednesdays @ 6:00pm across from the kitchen
Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 1
We are asking our parents to lead
by example! We need 3-4 parents
to serve as SmallGroup leaders of
graded age groups. Contact Sherry
Dobrinski for more information at
J.U.M.P. 412 for January
Jesus Use Me Please - That‟s what
JUMP 412 is all about. It‟s based
on I Timothy 4:12 - “Don‟t let any-
one think less of you because you
are young. Be an example to all
believers in what you say, in the way
you live, in your love, your faith, and
your purity.”
serving on an 8-week rotation basis. Contact Rob Lincoln at 918-519-2538 or [email protected]
Set Design Team - We are creating two
teams to serve on a rotation to build sets for each new series. If you are interested, you can contact Pastor Mike at [email protected] or call 918-557-1558.
SmallGroup Leader - Students and par-ents serving as SmallGroup leaders for an 8-week period. If interested, con-tact Sarah Lehew at 918-227-1492 or [email protected]
InnerMission Host-Would you like to “host” InnerMission? Students or adults interested in hosting contact Sherry Dobrinski at 918-521-8394 or [email protected].
We are gearing up NOW for the next series, the Great SkyBridge Showdown, which begins January 15! Join the Foun-dationKids Ministry Team and see God work on a weekly basis! There are many opportunities for you to serve in InnerMis-sion:
Drama Team-This team takes care of the drama plays that happen each week in InnerMission. Consider
Children’s Check-In - Wednesday Nights
Currently, we are looking for 1-2 adults who could check children in on Wednesday nights for JUMP 412. For more information, please contact Kendra Lincoln at 918-697-1146 or [email protected].
Looking for a place to get plugged in? We are always ready for you to join in on what God is doing in Children‟s ministry. Even if you don‟t want to teach a class, there are multiple opportunities to be a part of.
Spring L.I.T. Semester Begins
L.I.T. stands for Leaders in Training and is for children in 4th-6th Grades. Children are challenged to learn Scripture, spend daily time in the Word, and are encouraged to use their God given gifts to serve. There is a mandatory meeting for parents and children desiring to be in
LIT this semester. You may choose between Wednesday, January 18 at 6pm or Sunday, January 22 at 4pm. Both meetings will take place in the FoundationKids Theater. L.I.T. will begin on Sunday, January 22 from 5-7:30pm.
www.allprodad.com www.markmerrill.com Foundation Kids (on facebook) Foundation Students (on facebook) ParentFuel: Wednesdays at 6:30pm across from Kitchen!
Page 4 FamilyLink
Spring Break Local Mission Trip March 18-21 Mission Arlington Mission Trip June 4-8 Jr. High Falls Creek June 18-23 Senior High Camp - Illinois River July 9-12
You may be thinking about hot chocolate and fires in the fire-place, but we‟re thinking about SUMMER! Mark your calendars for these awesome opportunities to grow in your walk with the Lord and be the hands and feet of Jesus!
Summer is Right Around the Corner!
iServe meetings will resume Sunday, January 15! This year is going to be filled with in-depth decoding of God's Word, Scripture memory, and ministering to others. You do not want to miss this opportunity to grow in your walk with the Lord and discover how God's Word can be a tool for your life. Each meeting begins at 4:45pm with a potluck dinner (provided by students) and ends by 7:30pm. If you have not submitted an application and are interested in iServe, please contact Heather Jackson. Missionaries who have been approved to serve as leaders within iServe will attend a two-day retreat January 6-7. We will discover what it means to be a leader of faith, change and sacrifice! See Heather Jackson for a tentative retreat schedule.
If these questions are a little too painful to start out with, try mixing it up with questions of your own. Ask them about favorite family memo-ries, movies, or foods. Either way, the most important thing is to en-gage your student and discover the truths about your relationship with them and their relationship with Christ. The journey may be painful but the reward will be great as you grow together in love. If you need wisdom - if you want to know what God wants you to do - ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. James 1:5
5. Do you feel that I respect you?
6. Do you respect me? 7. Is there something you would
enjoy doing together with me? What do you think would keep us from doing this?
8. Is there some secret you are keeping from me out of fear that I would love you less?
9. What can I do to show you that I want to be more like Christ?
10. How could I best express to you just how much I love you, and how honored I feel to be your mom/dad?
Keeping the lines of communication open with your student can be chal-lenging but it's important to keep pursuing them just as you want them to pursue Christ. Try having a fishbowl discussion (questions or topics are put into a bowl and drawn out to initiate conversation) at dinner with these 10 questions. 1. Do you feel we are getting
along well together? 2. What are some things you
think we could do to improve our relationship?
3. Do you think I am concerned most about you, or how you make me appear to others?
4. Have I ever made a promise to you that I did not keep?
Ten Questions to Ask Every Year
iServe 2012
Page 5 Volume 2, Issue 1
Calendar Key:
Preschool (Birth-K) Children (1st-5th) MPact (6th) Student (7th-12th)
Church Wide Event
Save the Dates: February 24-25 - SuperStart! (4th-5th) $40, $20 deposit due by January 29
March 18-21 - Spring Break Mission Trip (local)
J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2
S U N M O N T U E W E D T H U F R I S A T
1 10:45 Service ONLY
2 3 4 TheRock Café Opens 5:00pm HisKids Clubhouse Re-sumes J.U.M.P. 412 Resumes Revolution Resumes
5 6 iServe Retreat
7 iServe Retreat
8 10:45 Service ONLY
9 10 11 12 13 14
15 9:00 AND 10:45 Services Resume Great SkyBridge Showdown begins - InnerMission iServe - Media Team
16 17 18 Mandatory L.I.T. Parent Meeting 6:00pm
19 20 21
22 Mandatory L.I.T. Parent Meeting 4:00pm L.I.T. Semester Begins iServe - Missions Team
23 24 25 26 27 28
29 SuperStart! Deposit Due - $20
30 31
Spotlight Mentors for January
Carolyn Hill, our Founda-
tionKids Preschool Mentor, has been
attending FC for 14 years. She has been a
faithful mentor in the Preschool Ocean (2s) Room for approximately two years. She
loves the children and they really love her as well. Caro-lyn loves seeing how much the children grow up in a year and how much they learn. Her favorite scripture is Joshua 24:15 - "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." She loves Hershey's kisses and her mother is her hero. Carolyn says her mother was very dependable and could make anything by hand beautifully! She was care-ful with her money, but extremely generous and not self-centered. She was surprisingly funny at times. You can tell how much Carolyn misses her mother, who has gone on to be with the Lord. We really appreciate Carolyn and her faithfulness and service to the Lord at Foundation Church. FoundationKids Mentors Danny and Jacque Darland have been members of Foundation Church since 1997. They are very active in ministry at FC, serving in the Taste & See Café and on the Photography Team. They also head up our Puppet Ministry. “We love seeing the L.I.T. Kids mature with their ministry. You get to see how they interact with the preschoolers. That ministry is doing something because the preschoolers are going home and talking about it. We love the fact that we are plant-ing seeds in this younger generation!” Jacque is a 6th Grade Math teacher in Kellyville and Danny is a retired police officer who enjoys taking care of their grandkids! The both love dark chocolate, how-ever Jacque prefers Zio‟s Italian Restaurant while Danny likes KFC and anything Chinese! Be sure to stop by the Revolution Room one Sun-day morning to see Danny, Jacque, the L.I.T. Kids and their puppets in action and let them know how much you appreciate them.
Danielle Wilson has been attending Foundation Church for almost a year. She wasted no time in getting involved and was immediately drawn to FoundationStudents. Having two teenagers, Jazz 18 and Dylan 13, she started out by attending Revo-lution with them. Danielle currently serves as the lead female adult for the iServe girls accountability group in addition to being a Gaggle leader for Revolution. "I firmly be-lieve that this age is critical in determining our youth's future commitment to living their lives in love with and in service to our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is when they are trying to figure out how to take the faith their parents have taught them and make it their own. If we don't help them in this transition chances are they will walk away from „the faith of their fathers.‟ Some of them will return as I did, but they will never get back these years when they make the most important decisions of their lives - who they want to be, what they want to do with their lives, and who they will marry. These are decisions with lifetime consequences. I really do receive more from the students than I could ever give them. They make me laugh, they teach me about myself, and most impor-tantly, they inspire me to deepen my commitment to the Father. I am so grateful and honored to serve them." Danielle's favorite scripture is currently 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NLT), "In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, some are made from wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special uten-sil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work." Please take a moment to stop by the Revolution Room to let Danielle know how much you appreci-ate her devotion to the girls of Foundation Church. She selflessly serves and loves on the students each week and deserves some love from us!
