A few years ago our church laid out a vision that would carry us through 2010. Our vision said that as a church we were focused on growth in three areas: spiritual maturity, service, and evangelism. As 2010 nears it’s time to evaluate our vision. As I’ve been thinking about it, one direction the Lord has been taking me in is toward a renewed emphasis on helping our homes to be spiritually strong. It’s an emphasis that some call home discipleship. Practically, it’s about helping individuals, marriages, and families succeed in cultivating a relationship with God through Bible reading and prayer.
Every relationship is built on communication and connection. Relationships grow when time is spent with someone else and when there’s the give and take of talking and listening. That’s how it is in our relationship with God. Prayer is the act of talking with God and reading the Bible is how we listen. Time spent doing these is about meeting and fellowshipping with God. It’s not a duty. It’s a relationship. It starts with me and God, moves to the level of my spouse and God, then my family and God, and finally to me, others, and God (me, my church, and God and the me, the world, and God). A personal relationship with God has a way of rippling out into the other relationships in my life.
What does a renewed vision involving home discipleship practically mean for our church and it’s ministry?
In your mailboxes today is a daily devotional for your home. There are extras in the office. This devotional will allow each of us to read the same text each day. We’ll all be on the same page literally in the Bible.
Somehow (I’m not sure yet) we need to reinforce the reading you’re doing at home at church. By bringing back a text or two from the previous week you’ll hopefully be encouraged to do the reading during the week.
Perhaps the daily readings could become the foundation of what we’re studying, memorizing, and reflecting on in contexts like Sunday School, Youth Group, GEMS, Cadets, or Small Groups.
Someone said that the quality of church is dependant on the quality of the home. I believe that’s true. As a church we can never make up for what’s missing at home. We need to create a strong foundation of learning, worship, and growth in our homes. As we work on that and carry out a vision of it would you pray and try to set in your life a pattern of daily discipleship?
Pastor Tom
PS. As a further help to you, please consider attending the Parenting Conference our church is sponsoring at the end of February. Steve Elzinga will be opening the conference talking about the very subject of home discipleship. Please plan to attend.