Dan Reiland, Executive Director of Leadership Expansion at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia, recently wrote a blog entitled 7 Questions to Help Follow Your Calling.   Serving in the 4th quarter of my call to vocational ministry as a lay person (not a seminarian, academic, nor clergy), I found myself reflecting on each question for effective ministry over the long haul.

I have the amazing opportunity to practice the Timothy mandate, investing in the next generation of leaders serving alongside ministry interns and younger church staff in the early stages of their callings. Beyond skills and systems, the focus is on building character that endures, so they, too, reach their final quarter still committed to saying “YES” to God’s calling.

Reiland’s first question asks, “What is God saying to you?” This is not a forever or even a later thing, but a now thing. It’s been my experience that God uses everything. King David is the perfect example of God placing him in situations and relationships all to prepare him for the next step, ultimately a kingdom-hand-off. Don’t wait for the invite, Say YES to humbly and joyfully serve where you are needed now and watch the doors open.

Another question is, “Are you prepared to pay the price?” Church work, like all work done well, is trench work. It’ll be filled with easy and not-so-easy situationships. Be prepared for seasons of discouragement AND joy, tears AND cheers, by discipling yourself in daily, weekly, monthly, annual holy habits to keep you close to the Christ of the Bible. Always be thankful.

“What is your gifting and passion?” Each of us reflects aspects of God’s image and has unique spiritual gifts for building up the church. Embrace challenges; mistakes and scars become stories of God’s faithfulness and mercy.

“Are you willing to follow first, make mistakes, learn, and grow?” A good follower is willing to take direction, flee from defensiveness, have a teachable spirit, and be willing to continue to learn and grow.

“Do you have the resilience to play the long game?” The iron-sharpening-pruning seasons will come ‘cuz God isn’t finished with me yet. So to keep my eyes on the prize of pleasing my King, I’ll continue to practice scriptural holiness through acts of piety (holy habits), take care of my body, mind, and soul, and invest in meaningful relationships. I still have so much to learn until I see Him in Glory.

“What keeps you connected to your values and convictions?” Calling and ability open doors, but character keeps us there. Like Joseph and Daniel, purposing in our hearts and minds how to handle sticky situations from a biblical perspective will provide holy boundaries to protect our witness.

Finally, “Is your vision aligned with Heaven?” Reiland emphasizes that our lives should reflect the priorities of the first part of the Lord’s Prayer, aligning our will with God’s: that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), to be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18), law-abiding (1 Peter 2:13-15), not conformed to the world (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7), serving with pure motives (Ephesians 6:5-8), and living wisely (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Serving in the local church has been my lifelong calling. It started simply, bringing a casserole to a new mom. I haven’t always done it perfectly, but I’m learning and committed to doing better. God has been too good to me for anything less.

⁴ “One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
⁵ They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
⁶ They tell of the power of your awesome works—
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
⁷ They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.” Psalm 145:4-7

Last week, I spent eight days with a wonderful group of fellow believers, exploring the life of the Apostle Paul on an educational tour through Greece. After a 2018 trip to the Holy Lands, I wanted to take the next step, diving deeper into the New Testament, almost like it was coming to life in 3D.

Our amazing, multi-lingual guides shared so much with us. Greece’s key exports include pistachios, feta cheese, honey, and Corinthian leather. The hills are still dotted with monasteries and ancient ruins from the Greek and Roman eras. While Greece was once made up of independent city-states, half of its population now lives in Athens, one of the oldest cities in the world. Though people in other areas often relocated due to natural disasters, the people of Athens never left.

The country expanded its roads and infrastructure for the 2004 Summer Olympics, with venues spread across the land. The museums, myths, and friendly locals—even at a small grocery store near one of our hotels—gave me plenty to reflect on.

Key Takeaways

1. Traveling with Paul Was Hard, but Purposeful
   Travel in Paul’s time was difficult, expensive, and always done in groups. Paul journeyed with companions—both peers and younger believers—on rough roads, avoiding the easier, more convenient routes reserved for the military. This wasn’t just travel; it was a form of mentorship. By including others in the journey and everyday work, Paul helped shape not just skilled communicators but disciples with deep character.
2. Paul’s Strategy: Influence Through Daily Encounters in Groups
   Paul aimed for an audience of great groups of influential people (marketplace). Though I’m sure there were conversations among the fellow travelers as they went from marketplace to marketplace, the lingering happened where folks would hear the good news of the gospel often and over time. His stop at the river where Lydia was gathered with others was my favorite location. Just a reminder that when God typically spoke or made Himself known to women, it was as they were carrying on their everyday chores of service to their families, in community. I’m thinking this might have been laundry day, but that’s just me.
3. Paul the Philosopher
   While we see Paul as a missionary, the Greeks and Romans viewed him as a philosopher—a person offering ideas on deep subjects. He spoke at Mars Hill (Areopagus), where the supreme court of 30 men heard only serious cases, like arson, treason or murder of a family member. When not hearing cases, the court became a gathering place for philosophers. Each speaker had just six minutes, timed by a water clock. Imagine a supreme court judge hearing Paul’s short, practiced message again and again! One of them, Dionysius, was so moved by Paul’s words that he believed (Acts 17:34). Paul’s six-minute elevator pitch seem to have had more lasting impact than a long sermon—at least in my view. Mars Hill remains a peaceful, rocky spot where lots of people still gather, without a big church built over it.

Surprises Along the Way

1. Graffiti is everywhere, especially in Thessaloniki and Athens. Lots of it on everything.
2. Jewish hospitality (Holy Lands) felt very different from the more individualistic Greek culture.
3. Religious icons are scattered everywhere, telling the stories through art of important faith leaders.

A Wonderful Group

My travel companions were lovely, and we shared meals every day as well as afternoon naps on long bus rides. Check out the map below. We flew into Thessaloniki travelling to Kavala and Philippi early on. The remaining week we spent time at each place noted all the way to Athens. My roommate was a woman originally from Selma, Alabama, who moved to Brooklyn in the 1970s. On our bus of 42, we had people from different faith traditions—Lutherans, Baptists, Global Methodists, Seventh-Day Adventists—and even a fellow LSU alum! There are hardly any places for souvenir shopping, but we took lots of pictures and made memories I’ll treasure for a lifetime.

Gratitude

As I continue my journey of faith, I want to thank Paul, Lydia, Silas, and—most of all—our great God for the call to follow Jesus as my Lord and King. May I not limit my obedience to the Great Commission to what is easy, convenient, or comfortable. It’s good to be home.

“Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Acts 18:9-10

All the churches on our road host fall festivals or trunk-or-treat events at the end of October, so as the new kid on the block we decided to offer a family connection ministry event on the first Sunday of October to celebrate the change of seasons. This is one of the those opportunities to be a good neighbor to our neighbors.

A team of eight started planning six weeks in advance, using a 90-minute schedule that included 50 minutes of activities and food, 10 minutes for a message, and 30 minutes for live music.

50 minutes of connection and food activities
Each part of the Family Ministry Team organized a fun, interactive activity with prizes for the purposes of connecting with folks through conversation, hospitality, and generosity:

• Art: Paper bag pumpkins
• Men’s Ministry: Cornhole
• Senior Saints: Ring toss for young kids
• Young Adults: Pumpkin checkers
• Nursery: People scavenger hunt
• Children’s Ministry: Bible trivia with dry-erase boards
• Confirmation: Puffy paint leaves
• Youth Ministry: Pogo sticks
• Other small groups: Chalk art, fall-themed face-in cutouts, skee-ball
  We also set up a shaded area for making Chrismons (similar to a quilting bee).

For food, we kept it simple with a chili potluck and all the fixings, with ice water. Desserts were offered through a “pumpkin walk” game, where participants could win seasonal treats from local markets.

10 minutes of a message
A lay-servant leader, experienced in public speaking and active in children’s and youth ministries, delivered a message on nurturing faith daily. His background in farming and science tied in perfectly with the theme, and he did a fabulous job.

30 minutes of live concert
We invited a local Southern Gospel group to perform and share the gospel through music. The stage was set with hay bales on the front lawn, and the multi-generational group was fantastic. This multigenerational group is well-known in the greater Atlanta area and they do this extremely well. There are so many genres of Christian music so this was a great platform for our congregation to hear and see something different done well.

Folks were encouraged to bring camp chairs and chili to share, fostering a friendly, neighborly atmosphere. A banner along the road and a simple Facebook ad promoted the event.

And I personally sent text reminders to church members who had texted me in the past two months, asking them to share the event graphic while drinking coffee and watching Nick Saban on the GameDay crew on the Saturday crew. 99 texts later, I hear we altered the West Cobb Facebook algorithms. Several couples told me they came because they saw it in their feed all weekend.

We’re still learning how to best use the spaces and resources the Lord has graciously provided. This was the first front lawn ministry event so we’ll debrief this week and make a list of what we learned.

How are you celebrating the season change this fall with your neighbors?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build…” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Janine McNally wrote When You See Fireflies to effectively equip leaders and parents to serve Generation Alpha. Generation Alpha are those born between 2010 and 2025 and the first generation to be born only within the 21st century. With each generational cycle lasting around 15 years, Generation Alpha are those who make up our current nursery, children’s, and youth ministry through middle school. These are the kids we’re serving today!

There is a lot of really good info here, but I’m going to focus on two items: 

1. Who is Generation Alpha?
2. How do we effectively stay the course with sharing the gospel as the goal?

With full bibliography notations of research in the back of the book, this is the Generation Alpha we serve:

• They are predicted to become the largest generation in the history of the world by 2025.
• They will be more educated.
• They will have increased wealth.
• They will reflect increased racial diversity.
• They will have a greater global influence for fashion, food, entertainment, and communication.
• They will have a more mobile lifestyle resulting in more than 18 different jobs over the course of their lives.
• They will be technology addicts and experts.
• They will have shorter attention spans, delayed social development, and a greater lack of exercise.
• They will have unlimited access to information they will not be able to process or emotionally handle. They will need guides from the side rather than sages from the stages.
• Their parents are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s; including Tiger Parents (driving academic and social success of their children spending more than 10% of their annual household income on registration fees, travel, camps and equipment resulting in all-consuming busyness) and Helicopter Parents (driven by an all-consuming desire for their child’s safety and protection as well as protecting them from all pain and disappointment, and doing a lot of their kid’s homework).

This is how we respond for greater Christian education effectiveness:

• Guide parents/caregivers to lead diligently (repeat, repeat, repeat) as commanded by Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
• Don’t shy from reminding parents to make church attendance not only a top priority, but a non-negotiable. Weekly choices make for lifelong habits. The most amazing Jesus guys and gals we want speaking into our kid’s, and their parent’s, lives are in the local church. Ex: Elizabeth, Anna, Simeon. The best models are there!
• Address the hard questions of culture from the pulpit and the adult/children’s small groups. Ex: When we teach littles about Moses’ rescue from the Nile River by the Pharoah’s daughter we indeed speak to the Pharoah’s horrible edict to kill babies. Killing babies is wrong.
• Restore trust by purposing to live a life worth watching. Only Jesus is perfect, but we local church leaders can so purpose our lives to live in obedience to the scriptures to the best of our abilities, without compromise. Ex: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Joseph purposed to live their lives in obedience to God’s commands and God blessed them with His presence. All who are in Christ, are charged to live honorably—holy and worthy of our calling before a watching world. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and King, we are no longer our own. My preferences and inclinations and feelings should no longer drive my decisions. The Holy Spirit is ON to change us through His sanctifying grace leading us to Biblical holiness.
• “While Hollywood can capture their attention for a few moments, caring adults can engage them in a way that’s personal and meaningful.” (p 93) Relationships! Relationships! Relationships! Focus on intergenerational people interactions over programs.
• Use visuals, experiential, active learning, not linear lecture in our teaching.
• Keep the goal THE GOSPEL: keep it simple, keep it free, keep it clear, keep it concrete, keep it Biblical.

Janine has a slew of other books which are now part of my personal library especially as I design our local church’s Faith Milestones.

I encourage every Christian Educator to evaluate how we can serve the Generation Alpha families well in our contexts. I read When You See Fireflies from a hardcopy (seriously marked-up) and listened to it on Audible and I’m so glad I did both.

How are you best serving and sharing life with Generation Alpha?

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24

Riding the shuttle bus from the Atlanta airport terminal to my parking spot, I started a conversation with another passenger. We shared about the heat as we both returned from Texas. She asked why I was in Houston and I enthusiastically shared, “The New Room Conference.” When she followed up with, “What’s the New Room Conference?” I clumsily tried to explain my previous three days in language that I had yet to process. So it was the perfect transition to ask questions of how and where she practiced and strengthened her faith.

The New Room Conference is a gathering of Christians and leaders who sow and practice the ancient holy habits for a great awakening. New Room is not so much about new things as it is about new discoveries of ancient things.

Our pastors had just returned from teaching Christian to the Core in the Czech Republic the week before, and they picked me up from the airport late Tuesday afternoon. My roommate from our amazing and gifted leadership team arrived early Wednesday morning. We headed to The Woodlands Methodist Church that afternoon, where I was warmly greeted by a fellow H.L. Bourgeois High School (down the bayou) graduate, who I recognized only because of the “-eaux” in her last name.

Throughout the conference, I kept bumping into familiar faces and meeting wonderful new friends in the Lord. I sat next to the niece of one of my church’s beloved members, which helped me stay calm instead of fan-girling over the lab speaker like a middle-schooler. I also shared a discussion table with the children’s ministry lead team from The Woodlands, who were in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, while I was the oldest in the group. We discussed the “Timothy mandate”—the importance of not only training young adults to implement Christian education programs with excellence but also spiritually parenting them, nurturing their Christ-like character. The session was led by a remarkable young woman I’ve known for years.

I reconnected with a fellow kidmin lead and preschool director from North Georgia, and we talked about how she answered her call to ministry at a previous New Room Conference. At the Houston airport on the return flight home, we prayed with a pastor, who later returned to chat more when he found out we knew his incredible kidmin lead when he sat by us on another shuttle. A divine appointment indeed.

“I can’t know the will of God unless I know the Word of God.” Rev. J. D. Walt, The Wake Up Call

Don’t let anyone tell you the church is struggling. She’s doing just fine and in the most amazing and unexpected places.

We were surrounded by…

• Believers obsessed with the Word of God.
• Believers fanning the flame of faith in the young in London, Ireland, Houston, Uganda, Chad, and universities around the world.
• Believers with a humble heart who will at any moment step up or step aside.
• Believers who pack flags, streamers, sign language, and tissue ready to worship with whatever is in their hands or bags unashamedly. 
• Believers who journal not their own thoughts, but what they discover who our great God is.
• Believers who step into the Gen Z & Gen Alpha hunger to know the real Jesus coming from a pre-Christian context.
• Believers who find Wesleyan Bands the safest and bravest place to be each week.
• Believers who mix travailing prayers with spiritual disciplines setting Holy Spirit spot-fires around the world. 
• Believers who are hungry for maximum, fanatical Christianity.

The New Room Conference is different from any conference I’d been to before. And I want more of it! This worship festival will be in Montgomery, Alabama next year. Checkout early registration here.

And if you’d like to see how the gospel is reaching the creatives of Houston, check out Urban Hymnal on Instagram. This is a Monday night worship community seeking communion with Jesus. They gathered for a prayer walk through downtown Houston last weekend.

Holy Spirit bonfires are being set all around the world for a great awakening and I’m incredibly grateful to be invited to fan the flames and join my friends as we carry wood.

“The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” Psalms 118:16

Family Bible study on Sunday afternoons brings me so much joy. This week, we discussed the importance of family worship at home. Learning to navigate family worship with realistic expectations (it won’t look like a perfect picture) will help families:

• Meet regularly and intentionally to pass on faith.
• Prepare for mission work if needed, even outside traditional church buildings.
• Avoid the mindset of just consuming worship.
• Create informal, regular moments for faith discussions, sacred conversations, and even kitchen praise parties while making pizza.

In Grow at Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Family Discipleship, author Winfield Bevins writes, “Worship is not just something we do on Sunday mornings, but something that should take place in our homes…Family worship involves prayer, reading Scripture, and singing songs.”

Jonathan Edwards reminds us that “Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church.”

The key to family worship is to start small and grow over time. Children really do want to learn about God. Family worship isn’t difficult—just keep it simple: prayer, Bible reading, and singing.

Everyone in the family can take part in prayer, scripture reading, and singing. In Sunday’s class, we sang “Jesus Loves Me” and asked, “What does this song tell us about God?” We asked this question repeatedly, digging deeply into the simple words. Scripture reading and singing are great ways to prompt these kinds of faith conversations.

Next week is fall break, so we won’t meet, but after that, we’ll dive deeper into family Bible reading. The Bible was always meant to be read together in community. (Deuteronomy 31)

I remember a conversation at the Children’s Pastors Conference where a colleague said, “My parents would never do something like this.” It saddened me, but it also strengthened my resolve.

God wants boys and girls to love their families. Families are His gift and the place where children learn to practice and live out loving God with their whole hearts for their whole lives. International Leadership Institute, Christian to the Core: Eight Core Values

Making Jesus the center of family life won’t happen by accident. From personal experience, I know the power of guarding family worship time and practicing faith at home through prayer, Bible reading, and singing. The temptation to give up will be strong, especially with the distractions of secular culture, media, busy schedules, and “She’s looking at me!” But making Jesus the King of our families is an eternal decision, and we have a real enemy trying to distract and defeat parents.

My role is to equip families to navigate these challenges as citizens of God’s Kingdom here on earth. We will teach, practice, and model discipleship at home because that is God’s plan. It’s our plan too, and it’s a biblical command to teach children of all ages and stages. May we be found faithful and obedient.

“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” 1 Timothy 4:15

Audible has become my constant companion while driving. Over the past month, I’ve listened to A Rebel’s Manifesto by Sean McDowell, Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer, 50 Women Every Christian Should Know by Michelle DeRusha, and Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham. But my daily routine now includes listening to God’s Word through Audible.

The Bible is life to me. The words, the names, the history, the accounts of God’s goodness and faithfulness to His people then and now jump off the page. But what do we do when the season calls for less ‘sitting’ and more ‘moving’? Listen to the word!

Though it takes up a lot of phone memory, listening to the Bible on Audible has been a great way to stay in the Word while driving or doing chores. Currently, I’m listening to the Listener’s Audio Bible (NIV) read by Max McLean, which is 75 hours and 14 minutes long. Listening to larger chunks of the scriptures, over time, have me picking up on common phrases and words that are specific to each book of the scriptures.

I’m preparing for a trip next month to explore Paul’s journeys, so the New Testament book of Acts is a regular listen this month.

There are many apps available which offer God’s Word read aloud, like Audible, Bible Gateway, YouVersion, Spotify and more. We can choose different voices, translations, and even the speed of the reading.

Before the smartphone God’s people, especially the children, listened to the scriptures read aloud. Before a lot of folks could read and before the printing press, the scriptures were read, memorized, and sung aloud as a means of grace to pass along our faith to the next generation.

The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy is less an action book and more a book of Moses’ speeches meant to be read aloud. According to chapter 31, read aloud every seven years during the Feast of Booths inviting the people of God to a do-over, a reset, a reboot, a jubilee to let go of regret, debt, and turn our eyes, focus, and priorities back on leaning into loving the Lord our God with our whole hearts for our whole lives. This instruction right after Moses tells Joshua to “Be strong and of a good courage… Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.”

Listening to the scriptures aloud just might be the proper equipping today to combat fear and discouragement offering a do-over to turn our eyes upon Jesus.

If the noise of the news, the hallways, and even the music are plentiful and constant, listening to the scriptures read aloud can turn just about any space you are into a sanctuary.  

¹⁰ Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Festival of Tabernacles, ¹¹ when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. ¹² Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. ¹³ Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 31:10-13

Watching the Olympics and Paralympics, I’m reminded of how every athlete trains with purpose to excel in their sport:

• They have a coach, either individually or as a team.
• They carefully choose what they eat to fuel their bodies for the best performance.
• They practice daily.

When I think about soul training to become more like Jesus, I see that God has given us much. Like an Olympian, I also need (1) a coach/team, (2) to be mindful of what I take in—both physically and mentally—and (3) to practice every day.

The goal of the International Leadership Institute (ILI) is to change history by accelerating the spread of the Gospel of Jesus. Wes and Joy Griffin are the international directors of ILI. Wes prayed with me and sat beside me for an entire day on one of the most pivotal days of my career. Joy shared a message about Rahab during Advent at my new church. These two have equipped men and women worldwide to effectively share the Gospel.

“A God-shaped life is like a tree planted by God’s hands, flourishing and strong. Those who trust in God and find their confidence in Him are like a tree planted by water, with leaves that stay green and always bear fruit.” Always green. Always bear fruit.

Christian to the Core is a curriculum to guide disciple-makers to discover eight core values for a transformed life in Christ Jesus. There is a curriculum for adults, youth, and children. Christian to the Core is grounded in expectations for the future. 

• Christian to the Core
• Christian to the Core to the Youth: Rooting in a Deeper Life
• Christian to the Core to the Kids: Sprouting in God’s Love

Each core value is backed up with scripture and begins with 

• “God is looking for men and women who….”, 
• “God is looking for young men and women who…”, 
• “God looks for boys and girls who…”

The youth and kids curriculum guides are not an add-on to tie a bow on an adult curriculum. All the curricula for adults, youth, and kids are offered as a free pdf here. The materials are thick with developmentally appropriate language and sticky storytelling from life and the scriptures, guided object lessons and discussion, and filled with clear, impactful teaching for leaders to lead littles and bigs to sold-out living for Christ Jesus. 

Too many disciples never fully develop into transformed disciple-makers thereby suffering the consequences of a shallow life. Our great God invites us to be involved in His Kingdom here on earth. Ready to transform your life, relationships, and legacy? 

Let’s go!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

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