Faith Milestones are key “firsts” in our spiritual growth, reminding us that faith formation isn’t limited to Sunday mornings. For the past ten years, I’ve made Faith Milestones a central part of our discipleship journey for children with their families.

These milestones, like delightful stepping stones on a path, are customized for each stage of development, from preschool through youth. They mark special moments and developmental markers where the local church and families come together, creating a shared journey of love and devotion to our triune God. Together, we help nurture a love for the Lord that flows into every area of life—within the church, at work, at school, and at home.

Last Sunday, we offered Hard Questions Faith Milestone for 7th and 8th graders, along with an adult who loves them. In 90 minutes, we tried to tackle 28 of the 56 questions from Janine McNally’s Understanding Hard Questions: I Need Answers. We had to skip about a dozen questions to ensure we finished on time and wrapped up as planned.

I prepared a Google slide deck with one question per slide and the corresponding page number from the book. Each student and adult received a book and a pen or pencil for note-taking.

We started by sharing our goals:

• It’s okay to ask questions.
• The answers should make sense, be reasonable, and offer the best explanation that aligns with reality.
• We want to want to give God our minds, as in Luke 10:27.

To break up the 90-minute session, we took a five-minute break halfway through and included in the slide deck two videos from Pursue God Kids that answered the questions “Who is God?” and “What is Salvation?” After the last video, we turned to Romans 10:9 to continue the conversation.

We saved the dinosaur questions for last, which was a fun way to end since our first class was all boys.

Middle schoolers have big questions about faith and life. We want their parents, in partnership with their local church, to be their first source for answers and from a Biblical worldview.

What Faith Milestones would you provide for your middle schoolers?

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

After three decades in professional ministry, I think I’ve finally figured out how to make reporting to church council meetings more effective. I’ve tried everything from handouts and newsletters to color-coded stats and even skits.

Here are three key things I’ve learned:

1. Be Prepared – Speaking off the cuff often leads to rambling and going over time. Instead, write down your points. After you present, hand your notes to the church council secretary who is furiously taking the minutes of the meeting. They’ll appreciate it and can fill in the minutes with the data you’ve provided.
2. Be Brief – I now focus on sharing three things, thanking three people, and making three big requests.
   • 3 Things to Share – Though there are a bunch of great things to share, choose two past celebrations and one upcoming event with purpose to highlight.
   • 3 People to Thank – Mention three people who have made a significant impact, sharing a quick story about each. Everyone enjoys being honored by name and it highlights the wins of your disciple-making team.
   • 3 Big Asks – (1) Request prayer for specific goals (e.g., a number of kids to reach by Christmas); (2) Ask for prayer for a champion to step up for a future ministry; (3) Encourage everyone to pray about who to invite to the next Family Ministry event happening in the next 30 days.
3. Be Part of the Team – In our Leadership Council (using the One Board Model), Family Ministry has a named representative. Collaborate with this person to prepare and present the report. This partnership helps keep our message clear and consistent.

How do you prepare, and present ministry reports to the congregation you serve?

“On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” Acts 14:27

Every year after Promotion Sunday, Mr. Bob and I take a break and head to the beach. It’s a time to rest and reflect before the busy fall season begins, especially since the families I serve are adjusting to new school routines and have little time to even check church emails.

Rest involves sleeping until I wake up and reading biographies of the saints who’ve gone before my generation. This year we also enjoyed the stories of the Olympic athletes. Forty years ago we shared the Los Angeles airport with Olympic families coming and going as we passed through on our honeymoon.

Reflecting involves sharing together the stories and answered prayers of God’s goodness and faithfulness over the last year before setting goals for the next year.

My August prayer from last year:

Lord, Creator, Director of my life. As I stand on this beach the sand is wet, mushy, and the waves are strong. As my feet sink they only sink so far because You make the boundaries and I submit myself to You.
By the time we return in a year You will have settled what unsettles us now and I’m grateful. Let me not sin in any of it. Let me please You in all of it. Let me stand in obedience to Your word. Give me the courage of Daniel, the wisdom of Solomon, the hospitality of the Shunamite Woman, and the courage of Peter. Let me remember I now speak as a Paul, I’m to fast and pray like Mordecai, and tell the stories of Your goodness and faithfulness to Your people like Luke so that the generations coming behind me will know the true, real, mighty You.
Thank you for letting me be born at this time. Make super fruitful Your gospel from my little offering.
Give me peace like a river, love like an ocean, and joy like a fountain as You lead me on the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake.
Amen

This last year has been the most exciting time in ministry ever!

Our team is on a first-named basis with Panera staff where we first met last December, gathered, planned, prayed, and laughed our heads off. Today I celebrate and submit to a humble and gifted leadership team on fire for the things of Christ, who work hard, and serve with the greatest integrity.

We’ve witnessed physical healings, new and deeper relationships, great outdoor weather providing safe and peaceful spaces for our littles, finances generously provided, and new sacred spaces, Wesleyan small groups, and new community partnerships only the Lord could have led us to.  All miracles. So many miracles!

Messages of life and God’s love taught in a funeral home offered by a generous family. This teacher-not-a-preacher gave her first message from that pulpit on New Year’s Eve and will humbly share again next month. Sharing the hard parts and confetti parts with a prayer partner and the family ministry leadership team who love Jesus and His people with their enthusiasm, ministry of presence, and creative teaching. I’m honored to play in their sandbox.

We’ve also faced open hostility and repeatedly turned the other cheek. I’ve let go of people-pleasing and instead embraced compassion and hope, rooted in a long history of trusting in a great God. I haven’t gotten everything right, and I still don’t. But my mistakes were never out of malice or anger. I’ve submitted to the authority over me, and the Lord has blessed it. Silence or cutting people off isn’t an option because we are called to love our neighbor especially those in the family of God. We serve a God who calls us to sacrifice and trust. He is so good.

All the grandkids are being homeschooled this year, so our Mimiland Fridays might expand. The youngest is enjoying preschool at the local church in our neighborhood. I’m trying to guard my schedule to spend more evenings with Mr. Bob. His partnership, support, and prayers have talked me off the ledge so many times.

This fall will be busy: the New Room Conference, Baby Girl’s birthday, a home LSU game in September, a trip to Turkey in October for Paul’s Journeys with folks from our church, Mr. Bob’s and our #2 son’s birthdays, hosting a Spirit & Truth Conference, sponsoring pilgrims on The Walk to Emmaus in November, and then Confirmation Sunday and Campfire Christmas with Live Nativity in December. January brings the Children’s Pastor’s Conference.

Oh, and there’s gonna be this amazing first birthday party of the church I serve come Wednesday, November 20, 2024. Oh the stories we have to tell!

“So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness.” Joshua 24:13-14

I’ve been captivated by the stories of the world’s best athletes during the 2024 Olympics this past week. As I watch these events unfold while Tropical Storm Debby hits the southern coast, I notice several similarities between the Olympics and effective local church ministry.

In the Olympics, athletes of all ages and sizes compete at the highest levels. This is a great analogy for multigenerational ministry in the church, where faith formation can be shared across generations. Instead of just offering a backpack blessing for young children, we extended our blessings to everyone involved. First, we prayed for the leaders in nursery, children’s, and youth ministries. Next, we blessed the children, teens, and young adults. Finally, we prayed for their parents and grandparents. A special thanks to Christina Embree of Refocus Ministry for this inspiration.

At our grandson’s church, senior members invited middle schoolers to their July luncheon to play board games, with the students bringing dessert. Our church’s empty nesters’ Sunday school class also supports and mentors a new young adult class, offering them fellowship, easy relationships, support, and leadership each week.

Just like athletes who compete individually in their countries come together as a national team in the Olympics, building teams in ministry makes us stronger. During the busy summer months, coaching and training interns allowed us to offer more faith formation opportunities. The youth intern handled Wednesday night programming, the summer mission trip, and designed the upcoming Confirmation cohort. The nursery intern focused on recruiting and orienting new leaders, while the children’s intern directed day camps and planned ministry activities for families with preschoolers.

A laity-driven initiative led to the design of a new church building, where middle schoolers played a key role in assembling furniture, hanging wall pieces, and building standing desks. Each member contributed their unique skills, from art teachers to national designers, making the project a success. Thank-you notes are going out tomorrow.

The Olympics showcase incredible stories of physical struggle, obstacles overcome, joyful surprises, and unlikely partnerships. Similarly, in our spiritual journey, we undergo “soul training.” Our spiritual diet, influences, and the guidance of mentors are essential in helping us grow and achieve our goals in faith. Just as an athlete needs a supportive environment, we too need to encourage each other, celebrating our successes and cheering each other on as we would a family member in the Olympics.

If you are in the path of Tropical Storm Debby, I pray that you find help or become a helper. As we watch the final week of the Olympics, let’s be inspired by these amazing athletes and motivated to achieve great things in our own lives, for the cause of Christ.

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24