You know the saying, “When one door closes another door opens.” After almost three months of being in lockdown, how are the families in your community? As churches begin to reopen for in-person ministry opportunities, how will you welcome families back?
The needs and pressures on families during this season have been a daily reality and will continue whether they return to your church building right away or not. As pastors and ministry leaders, we have an opportunity to discern where God is leading us to effectively minister to the families in our community both now and as we move towards whatever church may look like as we begin to reopen our buildings and programs. I invite you to take a moment today to reflect on these two, hopefully interrelated, questions:
What is the one thing you want to do for families?
What is the one thing your families want from your pastoral team?
All families are unique; there can be no one-size-fits-all answers. Certainly the complexity of what is meant by ‘family’ needs to be considered as the needs and opportunities differ for families with young kids, families with grown kids, families where kids have moved back home, families that are navigating shared custody, families that consist of essential workers, families grieving and suffering losses… the list goes on. Who is on your list?
I want to hear from you! What ideas or thoughts are you considering as you reflect on these questions? What are the questions you are asking families these days? Email me tyuen@baptist.ca and share what you’ve discovered.
As I reflect on these questions for families with younger children, I think about how I want to be able to help families engage in worship together, whether that is during online worship services with their faith community or in-person, around family meals, as they spend time together at home or going on walks, as they engage in conversation or even as they spend time watching movies together. My hope is that pastors and ministry leaders feel equipped with the resources they need to cheer families on and encourage them to worship together, which is why I focus a portion of my work on creating key resources to free pastors to focus on caring for their families. Check them out https://www.cboqkids.ca/worship/ if you are looking for ideas.
As some doors have closed in your life, what door is God opening for you?
