Do You Desire To Bring Your Child Into The Kingdom?

It's hard enough to be a Christian parent in this world. How do we combat the forces of evil while at the same time raise our children to desire to walk in God's light? By seeking His face, His Word and inspiration from each other as we stumble through this parenting process together. You will find all the instruction, encouragement and resources you need right here at The Greatest Mission Trip You'll Ever Take to help you be the most effective witness to your child that God would have you be. Look around and come back often. Let's learn together.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Pack Your Bags, We're Leaving Today

photo by Phineas H

As many of you have noticed, I've been a little (all right, a lot) absent lately. By way of explanation, I've been focusing a good bit of my time on starting up a business, one that will eventually allow my husband to step out of a truck and join me in partnership.

For right now, this focus needs to take priority. Ever since my husband lost his job back in May 2008, we've been struggling financially. And as he moves ever so quickly toward retirement age, the aches and pains he used to work through are getting harder to ignore.

So, for awhile, I'll be reposting articles from when I first started this ministry. Many of you who are new to TGMT will see where this all started, and for those of you who have been followers for awhile, please invite friends, family and associates to get in on the TGMT vision.

Together we can witness the Word to our children, who are absolutely the richest mission field waiting to be harvested for the Lord.

Pack Your Bags, We're Leaving Today

Is your desire to serve the Lord, reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and live your life in such a way as to make God pleased you’re His? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a missionary? Would you like to think you have what it takes to be one?

Pack your bags, then, beloved. Bring your Bible, your full armor of God and a toothbrush if you have it, because we are going to the far outreaches of….

…your front door.

Huh?

We are about to embark on the mission trip of a lifetime, one that will see you witnessing your faith, sharing God’s Word and glorifying Him in the way we live and speak His name. Our intended outreach? Our children.

Eighty-eight percent of children raised in an evangelical home will walk away from their faith after they turn eighteen, many never to return to it. And what of the ones raised in other Christian households? How can this tragic statistic be real if us parents are teaching our children the truths of the Bible and the magnificence of the Lord?

We are teaching them, aren’t we? Please don’t tell me we’ve turned this life-giving instruction over to someone else like our pastor or our children’s youth leader. They’re all fine and good, but frankly it’s not their job to teach our children. It’s ours. It says so over and over again in the Bible.

Learn with me. I promise I struggle with the same things you do, and I don’t always get it right, but the Word of God is food for my soul and strength for my body as I do battle with the world for my children’s souls.

Learn with me. I promise this will be the greatest mission trip you’ll ever take.

Recommended Resources:
Parent's Guide To The Spiritual Growth Of Children
ApParent Privilege

Related Articles:
Welcome To The Greatest Mission Trip!
Step By Step To Family Devotions - The Series
Resolutions For 2009

2 comments:

Rich and JoJo Tabares said...

I am praying for you both! My dh was out of work for a while and was just made perm but not at the salary we needed. My business is still needed to make up the difference.

I wanted to add one more resource because studies show that young adults who know their Bibles are falling away from the faith because they can't answer the questions the world has about Jesus. That causes them to question their own beliefs. I wrote a book that is helping many to be able to understand what the world is asking and how exactly to share it with them. It's called Say What You Mean: Defending the Faith. It is the most important communication study I have ever written! It's very easy to use too and comes from my background growing up in an Atheist home and being virtually the only Christian in my family. You can check it out here: http://www.ArtofEloquence.com There is a free lesson sample too.

Deb Burton said...

Thanks for your prayers, JoJo, and thanks for adding your resource. God bless!