By John Angell James

Parents have a great power of influence over the minds
and hearts of their children. Their children are almost
continually with them—they are seen by them in nearly
all they do, in their habitual conduct, and character at
home. They are heard in what they say—seen in what they
do—studied in all their behavior—by little ears, and eyes,
and minds, which are scarcely ever closed!

The child’s heart is soft and pliable to a father’s or a
mother’s influence. Their constant influ… Continue

“Where can I go to connect with other pastors who are ‘further down the road’ in the process of transitioning to a family ministry so that I can learn from them?”

“Is there a group of pastors willing to get together and engage in a conversation over the implementation of family ministry in the local church?”

The above responses surfaced from a recent seminary study asking student pastors about the future of family and youth ministry. From their input, the idea of the first Connecting Church an… Continue

This is a fascinating/revealing article written by Al Mohler.

"The fact that children and teenagers now spend a good deal of their lives connected to electronic devices is hardly news. We are now accustomed to the knowledge that teenagers are seldom seen without wires in their ears and a cell phone in their hand as they multitask their way through adolescence. Now, however, there is good reason to believe that these young people are far more connected than we have even imagined.

The Kaiser Fam… Continue

A few weeks ago, Blogger John Starke gave two delightful posts on godly husbands and wives from Puritan pastor Richard Baxter’s phenomenal work, A Christian Directory. While researching the Puritans recently, I ran across another pertinent section in Baxter’s Directory in which he provides men with 10 motives for providing spiritual leadership for their wives and children. As they are principles derived from Scripture, they certainly remain pertinent for fathers today. Baxter (1615-1691)… Continue

Time Magazine
By Sonja Steptoe / Bellflower
Sometimes a scavenger hunt is just a scavenger hunt. That's all it is at many churches, where the frenzied chase to collect trinkets and complete silly tasks is a perennial activity aimed at getting teenagers into their doors. But at Calvary Baptist Church in Bellflower, Calif., a scavenger hunt is also a metaphor for the lifelong pursuit of meaning and happiness that begins in adolescence--and rich grist for a sermon targeted to teens. "A scavenger hu… Continue

By Mike DeVries

The truth is that students are a part of a greater structure—the family. Whether we like it or not, parents will always have a greater impact—for good or bad—in the lives of their children than we ever will. How many students are in counseling due to a dysfunctional youth pastor? True ministry with students cannot be done in a vacuum apart from their parents. If we’re to impact students for the long haul, we must influence the family unit as a whole as well.

The role of the chu… Continue

Pg. 47: (Church)
When homes and families are divided—as a matter or course—the church loses. When there is little time for church members to develop relationships around real life, the church becomes a collection of ingrown special-interest groups.

Pg. 78-82: (Why people need the church- 6 reasons only)
Reason #1: People need the church because God says so! (Hebrews 10:25; 1 Cor. 12:18-30)
Reason #2: People need the church because it is where they find spiritual protection. (Acts 20:28-31; Hebr… Continue

By Doug Fields


Pg. 11-12 “Because in the busyness of my first decade of ministry, I abandoned my first love (God) and developed a love affair with doing ministry. I turned into the poster child for doing at the expense of being. I was always busy, always on the move, always armed with new ideas and fresh visions that had to be implemented and conquered immediately…. but at the expense of being a man after God’s own heart. I was too busy for God- but I figured God would understand because I was… Continue

This past weekend Providence hosted a seminar for our families and our community on the subject of protecting children from sexual predators. Dr Kevin Baldwin from Georgia was our guest speaker and he did an amazing job.

Dr. Kevin Baldwin is a clinical psychologist with a dual emphasis on research and forensics. He has directed federally-funded research projects, authored over a dozen articles in peer-reviewed journals, and leads skill-building seminars on topics such as The Assessment and Trea… Continue

“Faith No More. Why Are So Many Twentysomethings Leaving Their Faith” By: Jesse Carey (Pg. 50-52)
FaithRelevant Magazine. Issue 24. Relevant Media Group, Inc. Orlando, FL. January February 2007...


Pg. 51:
Perhaps the most jarring statistic reflects the overall attitude of twentysomethings when it comes to maintaining the faith of their youth: 61 percent of those involved in church at some level as teenagers completely disengage in their 20s.

“One of the primary things is that they haven’t bee… Continue