Sometimes it's hard to try something new. But, here at BridgeWay, we're about seeking God for the new ways He wants to connect people with Himself.
We tried something new in children's ministry this summer and it was fun! One of the desires of the BridgeKids leadership team is to help families grow in God TOGETHER. Although we believe that our Sunday morning, age-graded ministry is strong and purposeful, we also feel it's important to get parents and children together for worship and Bible study experiences. So, FamJam was launched on June 6 and lasted for three evenings. More than 40 families attended this first-time event. Yeah God!
The teaching focus was the life of Joseph. This is one of my favorite Bible stories of all-time. One of most important Biblical truths ever conveyed can be found all throughout the story of Joseph. Over and over, in good times and bad, you will find the phrase, "And the Lord was with Joseph." This simple truth was emphasized repeatedly with the children and their famiilies. How cool to teach kids that GOD is WITH THEM...no matter what. As a kid, I didn't learn that and I grew up thinking that, every time something bad happened, God wasn't there. He had abandoned me. How untrue that is!! God is with us - all the time - and the story of Joseph is living proof. Wow. If you haven't read it yet, check out Genesis 37-50.
Learning, fun, activities, eating and singing were all a part of FamJam. (We're probably the only church around that did an "egg drop" from 25 feet to see if the egg would break! You'll have to ask me if you want to find out more about that!!) The aspect that I liked best was seeing dads and moms interact with their children over God's Word. Single parents and their kids, dads, moms, large families, small families all slowed their pace just a bit and devoted three nights to learning and playing together. It was awesome. (Dads, you are my HEROES! Your children love, crave, adore your involvement in their lives and their faith. Kudos to you for taking time to teach them and process Bible truths with them. Also, thanks to the many other men who took underwing kids who were there without their dads.)
So, anyway, I'm just happy to have been a part of all that God did. One of hte projects that families did together was called a "Family Banner." Using stick-on letters, pictures and phrases, families worked together to create a banner that depicted who they are and what they stand for. It meant a lot to me to walk around and look at what these 40+ banners said. Families openly displayed their love for God and for one another through their decorations. As a young child I did not have a strong faith foundation and so it was such a blessing to see that those involved were already laying that foundation and placing high value on their faith. Way to go, families!
Finally, thank you, God, for sending your grace and providing so many volunteers to make this event turn out well. What a beautiful thing the Body of Christ is when we're all working together toward a God-inspired purpose. It was truly an honor to launch this new endeavor and I'm grateful for each and every contribution folks made.
Be watching for future family events. It's something we're passionate about and hope to provide in the months ahead!
To view great FamJam photos and share the memories, click here.
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