Effective Family Ministries in the Local Church

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Effective Family Ministriesin the Local Church

• A workshop provided
• By
• Family Ministries for the
• North American Division of the
• Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Willie Oliver, PhD, CFLE
• Director
• www.adventistfamilyministries.com
• 2008

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Family Ministries Curriculum for Local Church
Leaders
Module 8 Effective Family Ministries in the
Local Church
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What is a Family? A working definition

• A single parent with children
• A retired couple
• A blended family
• Single adults sharing an apartment
• A childless couple
• Two parents with children
• Two or three generations under one roof

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Challenges Facing Families Today

• Economic pressures
• Balancing work and family
• Changing sex roles
• Interracial marriages rising
• The high divorce rate
• Chemical dependency
• Changing values
• Welfare policies

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Essential Features ofFamily Ministries

• Sees people in context of relationships
• Looks at needs of the family at different stages
  of development
• Strengthens existing relationships and builds new
  ones
• Promotes understanding
• Recognizes that strong families build up kingdom
  of God
• Promotes reconciliation and healing
• Offers restoration and wholeness to abuse victims
• Teaches competence in interpersonal skills
• Includes three phases education, enrichment,
  counseling

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The Family MinistriesCommittee

• What is it?
• A leadership team that is committed to this
  effort for a sustained period of time.
• Who is on it?
• The Coordinator
• Sabbath School Superintendent
• Home and School Leader
• Community Services Leader
• Mens Ministries Leader
• Single Adult Ministries Leader
• Womens Ministries Leader
• At least one married couple
• At least one divorced person
• A good cross-section of ages

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Defining Needs in Your Congregation and Community

• Develop a family life profile of your church.
• Use direct feedback from experts, church families
  and your FM Committee.
• Develop a family life profile of your community
  to know about their needs and interests.

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Planning Family Ministriesin Your Local Church

• Developing objectives
• Target audience
• Nature of the program
• Time frame for the program
• Specific skills, experiences and information to
  be communicated
• Finding Leaders and helpers
• Finding Material resources
• Deciding on the time, place, fees and other
  details

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Advertising YourFamily Ministries Events

• Person-to-person invitations
• Direct mail
• Signs, posters, fliers, brochures
• News releases
• Paid advertising
• Answer five basic questions on your event
• What are you offering?
• Who is invited?
• When will the event be held?
• Where will the event be held?
• Why will people benefit from taking part in the
  event?

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Evaluating and Following-Up Your Event

• Evaluation questionnaires
• Follow-up

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Giving a Family Strengthening Emphasis to
Existing Church Programs

• Sabbath School
• Worship Service
• Prayer Meeting
• Youth Meetings
• Evangelistic Meetings
• Communion Services
• Baptismal Services
• Church Socials and Outings
• Child Dedication Services
• Weddings
• Funerals
• Vacation Bible School
• Personal Ministries

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Family Ministries Resourcesand Materials

• Adventist Association of Family Life
  Professionals
• Family Celebration Sabbath at Andrews University
• AdventSource
• Family Life Today Marriage Conferences
• From This Day Forward Building Stronger Families
  radio segments CDs
• From This Day Forward Marriage Conferences
• Message Magazine From This Day Forward Column
• NAD Family Ministries website www.adventistfamilym
  inistries.com

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Specific Guidelines and Helps forPresenting a
Family Ministries Seminar

• The importance of sharing
• Ability to share what you have learned in a
  manner that captures their attention, and
  challenges them to use what they have learned.
• The audience must be our primary concern.
• Meet people where they are and take them to where
  they wish to go.
• One learns most when teaching others.
• Principles of adult learning
• Recency
• Appropriateness
• Motivation
• Primacy
• Feedback
• Active learning
• Multiple-sense learning
• Exercise

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Specific Guidelines and Helps forPresenting a
Family Ministries Seminar

• Session plans
• Session title
• Session objectives
• Total session times
• Participant details
• Potential faults to be aware of (yours)
• Review notes of any previous sessions
• A need for the participant to know
• Method of presentation
• Content of the lesson
• List of new terms
• Key questions to be asked
• Resources required for session
• Timing session
• Student activities
• A link forward to next session if appropriate

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Specific Guidelines and Helps forPresenting a
Family Ministries Seminar

• Group methods / the group leader must be
• A traffic cop
• A weaver
• A fisherman
• A dance caller
• A provocateur
• Bakers yeast
• An elephant
• Story teller/keeper

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Specific Guidelines and Helps forPresenting a
Family Ministries Seminar

• Group ground rules
• Be respectful of others
• Listen without interrupting
• Be confidential
• Allow yourself to feel
• All questions are ok
• Be open-minded
• Feel free to pass
• Participate with honesty
• Please do not put down other participants
• Focus on the positive
• Keep a prayerful attitude

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The Witness of Family

• One well-ordered, well-disciplined family tells
  more in behalf of Christianity than all the
  sermons that can be preached.
• Ellen G White, Adventist Home, p. 32.

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The Promise of Success

• I can do all things through Him who strengthens
  me.
• Philippians 413 (NASBU)