Randy Stinson Family Integrated Model

Limited Church: Unlimited Kingdom: Uniting Church and Family in the Great Commission addresses the challenge of how churches can centralize God’s call to parents to shepherd their children found in Deuteronomy chapter six. Rob Rienow founded Visionary Family Ministries with his wife Amy in 2004. In addition he is a pastor at Gospel Fellowship Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He earned an MA in theology at Wheaton College, an Mdiv from Trinity International Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry in Christian Leadership from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Rienow has authored many several books addressing family ministry including Visionary Parenting, Reclaiming the Sufficiency of Scripture, When They Turn Away: Drawing Your Adult Child Back to Christ and Five Reasons For Spiritual Apathy In Teen. In this work, Limited Church: Unlimited Kingdom, he not only argues that every

The primary distraction for middle and affluent families with children to defer attending Church is the rapid incline of kids’ activities that now occur on Sunday’s disrupting the weekly church attendance. The advance of “travel” teams and Sunday being the day of departure, has displaced Sunday Church attendance as a family and patronizing your parish in a variety of

This further invites a discourse of church practices in the U.S like attending a church regularly and being part of a small group or the Bible Study at a church, in order, for

Chuck Swindol said, “Whatever else may be said about the home, it is the bottom line of life, the anvil upon which attitudes and convictions are hammered out. It is the place where life’s bills come due, the single most influential force in our earthly existence.”

2. In churches everyone is family. We all together are the family of God. However, the

Have you ever had to leave the one place that makes you feel complete, safe, and a place where you could truly call home? In Joan Didion’s essay, “On Going Home,” Joan explains her personal experiences and thoughts on what she perceives the meaning of “home” is. Joan’s essay deals with her own personal issues that she has to face when she returns home. Furthermore, she also has to go through the comparing and contrasting of her current life, involving her husband and child, and her past life experiences growing up. Joan shows us through her writing that it is not about the place itself that makes it home; it is more the people that you are surrounded by that truly make it “home.”

Willard clarifies the meaning and the process of spiritual formation through his book. He brings all human dimensions into consideration, shows us a path to genuine transformation, and calls us to continue on this journey. Indeed, in our local congregations we often get distracted by secondary matters, such as order of church meetings, style of music, structure of ministries, etc. The author reminds us not to treasure “vessels”, but rather to pay attention to the “principles and absolutes” of the New Testament church (236). I have to admit that in my mission setting sometimes “everything else” gets in the place of being organized around God’s plan for spiritual formation. To have local communities as “a place where divine life and power is manifestly present to glorify God and meet the needs of repentant human beings” (246) - this idea gives me fresh inspiration and encouragement to see the spiritual transformation as the end goal.

Our changing church culture remains an incubator for change. Society is changing each day. Every facet of life is quickly changing. The moral fiber of a nation is being tested and is changing. The need for stability, or an anchor for life is desperately needed and sought. Church is the place that’s always offered stability in such times. It’s been the anchor for life that people need and desire. When that stable placed is shaken with change, people get restless. When no good reason is given for change, it can cause

The local church must learn to focus its energy/efforts in the community where is resides. How can we learn to serve and love our neighbors when we do not even know our literal neighbors next door? As Nehemiah told the people in Jerusalem who were rebuilding the walls of the city, you must begin where you are at—where you live.

In the local church that follows a specific plan, there are four considerations according to Aukerman (2014) described as: “Where God’s Holy Spirit is already at work in our midst. Community and church needs. God’s call on individuals and the church. Spiritual gifts and resources”(p. 150-151). The first of these considerations brings to mind the Scripture verse that says; “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20 New International Version). This indicates that the presence of God is always in the midst of believes. The presence of the Holy Spirit is like the wind, it’s always moving, always in action, and always on mission in the lives of individuals, community, and the in the church. We are always being

Mentoring Christian couples has become a relatively new concept in which studies have been conducted to show evidence of being helpful. Congregations have begun to do their own studies for helping couples and families lead a more productive life internally and externally with the church. (Yankeelov & Garland, 2004). Often times, churches are using the teachings of Paul to help couples see the bigger picture of having honoring and integrity, not just for themselves, but for every aspect of their lives (Yankeelov, & Garland, 2004). This in return can help decreased the divorce rate among Christian married couples and provide a security blanket, so to speak (McManus, M. & McManus, H., 2003). By exploring a divinity, within a marriage it can help perceive whether a couple is able to visualize how it can help with the prevention, not allowing, and how to overcome a problem in a marriage (Lambert, & Dollahite, 2006). Finally, it has been determined in one study conducted concerning prayer, that it can greatly help with adversity issues within a communion (Butler, Stout, & Gardner, 2002).

Loving the family of believers is something that God put in place for His children. We were never meant to walk this life alone. I know that I have tried that and the results were not great. God has given us the local church for different reasons, but one of the big ones is to build each other up. The go-to verse that comes to mind here is Hebrews 10:24-25. The writer says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” We are spur one another on, but not just so we can feel good, but there is a purpose behind it. When we do this in the context of community, we are setting each other up to do good deeds, that will ultimately bring God glory. There is also a mandate to not give up meeting together. We have to have a commitment level to meeting with each other. We cannot half-heartedly be in on this. Community is needed for the health of the church, and we cannot take that lightly.

No matter where we live or what we live in, There is no place like home. The walls around your family and items are not the home, but the house, apartment, etc. Our home is what we create inside those walls. Many of us want to consider our home an ideal home. The ideal home should be a Christian home because its foundation is Christ.

The passage of Scripture that I would choose to describe and lead my future Children’s Ministry is Proverbs 22:6. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it”. I chose this piece of Scripture to lead my ministry because it challenges the Children’s Ministers, parents and congregation to equip the child so that they can all work together on their faith. In my ministry I want to make sure that at an early age children are intentionally encouraged to develop a personal relationship with Christ.

These, and other respondents have had a hard time engaging with their church family. Some even went as far as to say “I was discouraged by my church to participate”.