HOPE January/February 2016

Magazine

HOPE

IPHC Children’s Ministry

January.February 2016 Edition

E P O H Magazine

Welcome to HOPE! “HOPE” is such an incredible word and I believe we have a lot to be hopeful about. As a denomination, we desire to be a “people of hope and a place of promise,” and as the Children’s Ministry of the IPHC we are endeavoring to equip those working with children because they are the hope of the next generation. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do Dr. Ellen Moore not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” IPHC Children's Ministry Consultant (Mark 10:14).

This digital magazine is designed to encourage and equip you to do what God has called you to do. We are committed to providing HOPE to those influencing kids on a regular basis – parents, as well as children’s ministry staff and volunteers at the local and conference levels.

What does HOPE look like?

Heart. Options. Principles. Encouragement.

Heart is about reminding parents, church leaders, and volunteers of the validity and extreme importance

of children’s ministry. While kids are young is our best and most viable opportunity to model, encourage, and train the next generation to be friends and followers of Jesus.

Options are the resources Discipleship Ministries is committed to providing that enable churches to lead

generations to actively follow Christ. Our mission is to specifically provide a variety of resources designed to equip those working with children in our local churches to intentionally and effectively make disciples.

Principles

are those Biblical and educational principles of Children’s Ministry that span age, gender, developmental levels, learning styles, and family status. As we further train and resource those working with kids at the national, conference, local church, and home levels we believe we will see more fruit and fruit that will last for generations to come.

Encouragement

is what we desire to provide. Like Paul, we want to be an outlet of the Lord’s encouragement and strengthening for those parenting and serving the kids of the IPHC. We invite you to join us in inspiring kids to be Christ-followers and live their lives full of hope!

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) - 2-

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Family

focus

by Bishop Tommy McGhee

T

he word “focus” is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, the word focus means, “To become the center of interest or activity.” As a verb the word focus means, “The ability to adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly.”

Discipleship Ministries has stated that our vision is to lead generations in actively following Christ. In the year 2016, the center of our activity will be Family Ministry. We must be able to adapt to our present level of spiritual light and see clearly the need to focus on families. Consider the following realities in the American family: Father Absence – author David Kinnaman states in the 1960’s 5% of live births were to unmarried women. Currently the percentage is 42%. Single parents now account for 27% of family households with children under 18. One child out of 25 lives with neither parent and according to the 2010 U.S. Census data; a staggering 4.9 million children are being raised solely by their grandparents.

As we focus on ministry to families we must recognize that there are so many different types of families: nuclear, single parent, blended, adoptive, foster, and grandparent families.” Therefore, we must have a working definition of families and parents. Our definition is that families are people who do life together; and parents are the leaders of those families.

Discipleship Ministries is blessed to announce that Dr. Michelle Anthony is joining our team as our Family Ministry Consultant. Michelle serves as the Vice President and Publisher of Learning Resources at David C. Cook. She is the author of Spiritual Parenting, The Big God Story, Becoming a Spiritually Healthy Family and her newest book, 7 Family Ministry Essentials. Michelle will help bring into focus a number of important principles as she says, “Leading families has become one of the greatest challenges of our time. As a church, we must awaken our parents to their God-given role. Parents today need the church to inspire them, equip them, and support them in this endeavor.”

Family Ministry will not be a new department but rather an emphasis for each ministry. From Children’s Ministries (Kid Min, Boys, and Girls) to Student Ministries (Youth), and into Adult Ministries (Men’s and Women’s) each will be focused on raising disciples through the family. George Barna states, “I am now convinced that the greatest hope for the local church lies in raising godly children.” Our own Children’s

Ministry Consultant, Dr. Ellen Moore says, “The local church is crucial in this process but a child’s family is central.”

With so many different kinds of families and with so many children who are not receiving spiritual guidance, what can we really do to make a difference?

Michelle states, “The reality is that many children don’t have spiritually supportive parents. But by being part of the larger faith community, these children can still experience authentic, organic, and life transforming spiritual guidance from loving adults in the church community.” Much of this need will be addressed by our Women’s and Men’s Ministries. Through these ministries, we will focus our attention on discipling adults who can be better parents to their own children and become mentors to children who are not receiving spiritual guidance in their family environment.

The need is so great and we are focused on creating training opportunities and resources in partnership with the church and home. We are now scheduling regional training across the IPHC with Dr. Michelle Anthony as our team works together to help each local church develop a family ministry strategy that will impact lives for the Kingdom. Please pray with us and plan to attend a regional training event near you and follow us online at http://iphc.org/discipleship.

Families are people who do life together; and parents are the leaders of those families.

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HOPE for

PARENTS

by Dr. Ellen Moore

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“T

he days are long but the years are short.” As parents, we know exactly what that means.

The days are simultaneously busy, tiring, fulfilling, exasperating, and joyful. But before we can blink three times, we ask where the years went. We also find ourselves wondering if we’re doing a good job, if we’ve taught them everything they need to know, and if we’re being the best example. Those are tough questions with a vast array of answers, depending on the day. There is good news for us…there is hope!

Noah Webster, in his original 1828 dictionary, defines hope as “the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God’s gracious promises.”

will be given over to the Lord.”

Even if we can’t see how His promise could possibly be fulfilled today, our hope is not just wishful thinking.

Our hope is well founded on a good God who always keeps His word. He gives us wisdom and discernment, He sends people across our paths to help us out, He sends people to our children to be another godly voice in their lives, and He speaks directly to our kids. He has more ways than we could possibly imagine to get their attention, direct their steps, and draw them to Himself. Stay strong and be encouraged - there is hope! "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19).

Our children are a precious gift from a good God, specifically given to each of us. Think about it…your

child could have been born at any time in the past, present, or future, anywhere in the world, to anyone in all of history. And He chose you!God, in His infinite wisdom, considers you the perfect fit as a parent to your child(ren). Because He is good we can trust that He does not play cruel jokes on us by giving us a job that is impossible to successfully accomplish.

Anything He calls us to do, He also equips us to do it (Phil. 2:13). I love the prayer Manoah prayed in Judges 13:8-9, asking for wisdom on how to raise his son. “Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: ‘O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.’”

And the next sentence is what gives us hope, “God heard Manoah.” Our hope and expectation is well founded in a good Father who hears us, and answers us with gracious promises.

We’ve all been disappointed, probably many times, throughout our lives by broken promises or unfulfilled expectations. But that has never happened with one of God’s promises. What has He promised regarding your children? If you’ve forgotten, take some time to remind yourself or re-visit those verses. If you’re not sure, ask Him for one. The Bible is full of them. One of my personal favorites is 1 Samuel

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he

1:27-28,

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by Irvina Parker

B

aby Hope Club is sponsored by IPHC Girls’ Ministries. The funds generated from this endeavor are given to Royal Home (the IPHC maternity home) to purchase items for the babies such as diapers, formula, bottles, toys, etc. The Royal Home, founded in 1992, is a ministry of Falcon Children’s Home and the IPHC. When Baby Hope Club was introduced in 2000, the Royal Home was being operated out of a small house in Salemburg, North Carolina, and could house only six expectant mothers; once the child was born, the mother and baby had to move on. Since those early days, there have been some significant changes. In 2008, a program called Mothers & Babies was added which allowed some of those mothers to return with her child if further assistance was needed.

In November 2014, I was privileged to attend the dedication of The Marvin & Joyce Whitfield Life Campus, named after the founders of the original maternity home and adoption ministries. Three beautiful buildings, located in Falcon, North Carolina, now house the new maternity home that can serve up to 12 clients, a mothers and babies apartment complex that can house up to 16 mothers and their children, and administrative offices. The need for financial supporters is even greater now than before.

A year ago, I participated in my first March for Life in Washington, D.C. I joined with the IPHC contingency to represent Girls’ Ministries and Baby

Hope Club. It was an incredible experience and I will be in DC again this month to participate in the 43rd annual March for Life. If you are close enough to participate, I would highly encourage you to do so. The March is held in conjunction with Sanctity of Human Life celebration which is always around the anniversary date of the Row vs Wade decision that legalized abortion.

That makes January a perfect time for local churches to promote Baby Hope Club. It is a great way to get your girls involved in an outreach that is having an impact on generations to come. This year, we would love to see you involve your whole church in this endeavor. Take your lead from the Mt. Olive Church in North Carolina, where baby bottles were given to everybody in the church last year. Together they raised a record-breaking $5,500 Baby Hope Club offering for The Royal Home. Filling baby bottles can be done all year long and offerings can be sent through your GM or local church treasury earmarked Baby Hope funds at any time of the year. You can download information and a master label for baby bottles on our website: http://iphc.org/discipleship/ girls/baby-hope-club.

To learn more about The Royal Home and other related ministries, visit their website at www. theroyalhome.org. Thank you for joining with us for a brighter future.

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Baby Bottle Project What You'll Need: • • • •

Plastic Baby Bottle Label Sharpie Markers

One way we can teach our kids to be generous is by choosing a project for them to contribute to throughout the month.

Pick a night out of the week to sit down as a family or a church group and create your own baby hope project bottle. you can make a trip to a dollar store, let the child or leader pick out the bottles, and each child decorates a label to put on it.

Let the kids take the bottle home and fill it up with change!

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