by Phil Miller–

I invited eight people to a meeting, and all eight showed up. Their response showed their interest in the purpose—to plan faith formation activities for our children (kindergarten through grade 5).

I circled Proverbs 22:6 in my Bible when I was in high school, and it has stayed with me ever since: “Train up children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.” Of course, some go through their prodigal phase in finding their identity, but they find their way home because at an earlier stage, a parent or grandparent pointed them in the right direction.

These eight church members came up with a plan for the coming weeks, and it looks like this:

On Sundays—October 20, November 3, and November 17—the children will meet after worship for a snack lunch followed by a Bible study. Kasey Bogan, Amy Miller, Laura and Matt Murray, Dona Norwood, and Eric Scheidecker and Nikki Scheidecker will take turns teaching, with Anna Petoskey-White assisting with child care or back-up support.

Tapering down intentional Bible teaching by the church to a couple of hours a month places more responsibility than ever on parents and/or grandparents. Families are eager for their children to develop a lasting faith, yet many lack clarity on how to guide their children toward discipleship, especially when the surrounding culture is so secularized. Summer church camp helps tremendously, and we hope our worship services speak to children and youth in meaningful ways. These Sunday noon sessions should help, too.

In addition, children will be involved in a Sunday morning Hanging of the Greens on December 1^st, and in a Sunday morning nativity pageant on December 22^nd. Also, at 4:30 on December 15^th, Amy Miller, Dona Norwood, and Nikki Scheidecker will sponsor a Parents Night Out event for children.