The second goal of the project was to effectively implement the first three faith milestones of the program in accordance with predetermined goals. God's Word repeatedly exhorts parents to teach their children diligently, to train them in the fear and discipline of the Lord, and to influence by personal example (Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Ps 78:1-8 and Eph 6:4).
His basic assumption is that remembering and telling are essential to the existence of God's people. In this Psalm, Asaph expresses his intention to show the next generation the glorious works of God.
Second, fathers are told on the positive side to "bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." The words of this sentence are rich in meaning. 62 Joseph Henry Thayer, “paidei,a,” in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1997).
This goal is clarified by yet another prepositional phrase ("for the building up of the body of Christ"). Parents should be equipped for their meaningful, biblically mandated work of ministry—to raise their children to love and obey God through the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
After an overview of the development and practice of the milestone strategy, specific benefits will be summarized. Hard copies of the online survey were provided when the parents arrived and signed up. The education also included the role of the church in equipping parents and God's view of children.
Although Gospel Business was not the subject of project research, it was included in Faith Milestones as a visible part of the church program. This fifth and final chapter will be used to provide an evaluation of the Faith Milestones project at Cornerstone. The first goal of the project was to develop a parent training curriculum for three different milestones.
Another goal of the project was to effectively implement the first three faith milestones in the program in accordance with predetermined goals. A fourth weakness of the project was the lack of attention to parents who applied but did not meet the milestone.
Communicate the Vision
Provide Training
Provide support and accountability to parents through weekly small group sessions led by experienced adults in the church. The goal is to engage the generations of our church that have passed through this phase to engage with younger families in strategic, meaningful, and encouraging relationships that we hope will extend beyond the milestone. Provide training for small group leaders that includes the purpose and objectives of the milestone, the qualities of a good small group facilitator and clarity about their role – that they should be an encourager, a sounding board and a resource accountability by making a mid-week 2 phone call and parents updating each other weekly in the small group.
Small group leaders will be present at all parent trainings to lead breakout sessions each time. Meet with small group leaders in between training weeks to encourage them and ask for feedback.
Celebrate the Milestone
How many times have I read or discussed the Bible with any of my children in the past month. How many times in the past month have I discussed any biblical or spiritual matters with any of my children while I was busy with daily activities. How many times in the last two months has my family been involved with any family.
How many times in the past two months have I talked with my spouse or a close friend about the spiritual development of my children. How many times in the past year have I intentionally participated with one or more of my children in witnessing to a non-Christian or inviting a non-Christian to church. A primary goal of Faith Milestones is to equip parents as the primary disciples in the home.
CURRICULUM
5 You must love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell the coming generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength and the wonders he has done. 2 Elders must be sober, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love and in steadfastness.
3 Older women should also behave respectfully, but should not slander or be slaves to great wine. They must teach what is good, 4 and thus educate young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-reliant. 7 Show yourself in all respects as an example of good works, and in your teaching show honesty, dignity, 8 and reasonable speech that does not condemn, so that the adversary will be put to shame because he will not have anything bad to say about us.
Acts And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We accept the support of the body of Christ as we raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. At both baptism and ordination, parents express their commitment to rear their child in the faith and loving discipline of the Lord.
Recognize your child's need for the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and the renewing grace of the Holy Ghost. Pledge to use all God-given resources, including faithful participation in the life of the Church, to raise your child in the loving discipline of the Lord. We baptize or ordain each child in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Walk the Faith Milestones
GOSPEL BEGINNINGS – Essentials For Kindergarteners Who: Kindergarteners and their parents
Gospel Beginnings
Mark 10:13-‐16
He said to them: "Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." 15 Verily I say unto you, whosoever will not receive the kingdom of God as a child. a child will never enter it." 16 And he took the children in his arms, laid them in his hands, and blessed them. In these cases we see the preborn, the newborn, and the little children who respond spiritually to God's presence or his voice.
Do you currently regularly spend time reading from God's word or doing a meditation in your home. We begin with a brief overview of Lesson One and then open Deuteronomy 6:4-‐9 to look at God's instructions to parents of Israel. In this new lesson we are going to ask and answer the question, "why does God first look at parents for children's faith formation?".
Deuteronomy 6:4-‐9
Last week we learned from the words of Jesus and the scriptures that children have a capacity for God that is sometimes underestimated. We look at why God chooses parents over other options and then examine what exactly God requires of parents. God could choose "professional" leaders to nurture all the children in the nation of Israel.
Regardless of your lack of credentials, you will always be the preferred location for spiritual formation in God's eyes. What, then, is the role of Church leaders if parents were to do all this discipleship work?
Ephesians 4:11-‐12
Getting together regularly for family meals is one of the most strategic steps you can take. This week your "Take it home" assignment is to use the time you have planned to do two faith talks with your child ("In the beginning" Faith Talks). As leaders, your aim is to help parents process the material, offer encouragement and support and share from your own experience.
Did you find a way to show love to your son or daughter in a special way this week? In this lesson, we will focus specifically on how we can meet God's expectations for parents by having faith talks in our own homes. For parents to overcome obstacles to faith talks and be prepared to successfully start/continue faith talks in their own homes.
Ephesians 6:1-‐4
Instead of family worship, you can choose to do an activity or just talk—the point is to have intentional time. Tonight we're going to talk about a strategy for using catechisms, which are an integral part of faith conversations at the beginning. That parents know the message of the Gospel so clearly that they can express it in their own words.
The most important truths your child should understand to respond to God's grace -‐ God created us in his image to know him and walk with him. Your child will begin to understand the gospel truths (listed above) after repeatedly hearing them in faith talks and in church. Receiving Christ by faith is the first step to lifelong growth in the gospel.
Milestone 3
To ensure that parents become acutely aware of their God-given role as the most important influencers of faith and are moved to action - purposely use the Bible with their child at least once a week. While the Bible is the bestselling most influential book of all time, and many people own multiple copies, why don't we KNOW more about the Bible? Let's watch a short video on YouTube of children answering the question, "What is the Bible?"
Gutenberg Press (1455 by Johannes Gutenberg) The Bible was the first book ever printed and continues to be the most printed and distributed book in the world. These should NOT go home, but stay at church until after the Bible reception. Bookmarks should be left inside the Bible that will be given to their child and left at church until the second grade Bible reception.
WILD ABOUT GOD’S WORD!
Books: The Bible STARTS with Genesis (the creation of heaven and earth) and ENDS with Revelation (the new heavens and earth).
