Laura and I recently went to a Kids
R Us conference which completely blew us away! God spoke so clearly to us from
the moment we entered the building. We were greeted, welcomed and high fived by
a number of kids, who are encouraged to be disciples and leaders through an
amazing 'David club' program. This program is based on David from the bible,
who was very young but was chosen to be the future King of God's people. He was
young and little but God still chose him because he had a big heart for Him and
His people! It got us thinking, how can we encourage and mentor the young
people in our community to become leaders like David? God can and does use
little or young people for big things too!
Another key message we heard at this
conference was that we never know the effect we have on the spiritual lives of
the people around us and the seeds of faith that we plant in them. It might be
a shared smile, a helping hand, an encouraging word, a hug; it doesn't matter
how small, these are seeds that one day might bloom and open the door to Jesus.
While we are here on earth you may never know what seeds you have planted or
what God will do with those seeds but keep planting them into everyone you can,
especially kids!
“It’s like a mustard seed planted in
the ground. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on earth. However,
when planted, it comes up and becomes taller than all the garden plants. It
grows such large branches that birds can nest in its shade.” Mark 4:31-32
Some statistics we were given at the
conference also completely blew us away. Did you know that the church is only
one generation away from extinction? In the 1970s approximately 30% of kids had
some connection to a church, by the 1990s this had dropped to approximately
3.3% and in 2011 only 1.7% of kids had anything to do with a church!!! Can you
believe this, the church is LITERALLY just ONE GENERATION AWAY FROM
EXTINCTION!!!! Not just our church, but THE church!! Take a moment to think
about that, what amazing things do you experience through your church, your
faith and your relationship with Jesus??
I for one have experienced a purpose
for my life, a hope and fulfilment that can only come from my faith in God,
some amazing spiritual growth through my small group, bible study group,
working with kids and church, as well as making some great connections and
friendships, and experiencing a sense of community through things like
Playgroup, Women@PV events, Kingdom Kids and church functions. Now think, what
would happen if the next generation didn't have all these things? What if YOUR
kids or YOUR grand kids did not experience these things or have a church
community to go to, a place where they can praise God and develop a
relationship with Jesus!?
God has put a fire in me that I
cannot ignore, He wants me to share this message and challenge people with this
information and these questions so we can make sure that THE CHURCH is around
for future generations!!
So here are some things for you to think about.......What
are you or can you do to help plant seeds of faith in others? What are we doing
as a community to value and encourage our kids and families to grow in their
faith and relationship with Jesus? Both on Sundays and throughout the week? How
can we do this better?
“Tell it to your children and your
children to their children, and their children to the following generation.”
Joel 1:3
Beth
This Sunday at Good Shepherd
This
week’s message will be ‘The blame game’
as we continue the series ‘The Barriers to Spiritual Growth’. Podcasts of the
message are available at www.paravista.org.au
Bible Readings:
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-13, 21 and 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Kingdom Kids:
This Sunday in
Kingdom Kids we will be looking at the following topics
·
Baby Zone: I see
God’s love at Church (from our Gospel Lights Baby Beginnings resource)
·
Kindy Zone: ‘David
and Goliath’ 1 Samuel 17 (from our Kids @ Church resource)
·
Kids Zone: ‘God’s people
rebel’ Numbers 13 (from our Kids @
Church resource)
·
Kool Zone: Why do I
need other Christians? Part 7 of our 8 week discipleship program Raising up
Spiritual Champions
Playgroup Twilight
Event
Do you usually miss
out on coming to playgroup? Here’s your chance! Come along to our 2013 Twilight
event on Wednesday 18th September from 5pm-7pm in the Church Hall. Please bring
$5 to cover the cost of BBQ meat, bread, drinks and dessert for your family, as
well as a salad to share. We will have lots of fun activities as well as music
and movement with Chris Jaensch. Kids (and adults if you’re keen) are invited
to wear pj’s and bring a favourite teddy. All welcome.
Laura Carson –
Children and Family Team Leader
Prayer
requests
Prayer requests are not included in the weekly news. If you would like to view the current requests refer to the email that alerted you to this weekly news. If you have a prayer request please email churchequiries@paravista.org.au with your request.
Prayer requests are not included in the weekly news. If you would like to view the current requests refer to the email that alerted you to this weekly news. If you have a prayer request please email churchequiries@paravista.org.au with your request.
Cebu
Fundraising
Cards stall on 22nd September after both services. There will
also be cupcakes for sale for a gold coin donation.
“What we become is more important than where we are from”
