May2022
Encouraging the young people in our congregations
Every part of the body, regardless of age, appearance or skill has both value and purpose in God’s plan. When different generations come together through service, relationships begin to form. Young and old learn from one another and begin to appreciate each other in the context of growing in faith. Our role as congregations is… Read more
May2022
Widening the Circle
Why mentoring matters more than you think When you were growing up, did you have a special person in your life who did things with you, gave you advice, or was a good listener? This person may have been a relative or family friend who was older than you. If so, then you had a… Read more
May2022
Encouraging faith conversations
Deuteronomy 6: 6-7 was given with the express purpose of encouraging a lifelong pursuit of a love for God that would envelop every molecule of a child’s being and existence: ”And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of… Read more
Apr2022
Creating opportunities for your children to thrive
You don’t need research to realise that life moves very quickly. The real-life experience of watching our own children grow up is how we know how fast time really goes. Grow team member Christine Matthias shares the reflections she made while reading the book Generation Alpha by Mark McCrindle and Ashley Fell. __________________________________________ “By being… Read more
Apr2022
Allowing Space
How quickly does your week fill up? The term starts and once again it’s full swing back into school activities, after school activities, church activities and sport. We spend many hours in the car going from place to place, participating in wholesome, important and growing opportunities, but I wonder how often you get time to pause?
Apr2022
RESOURCE HIGHLIGHT – Woven Together
Woven Together is a wonderful resource designed to encourage home devotions for families with children of all ages. It is aimed to assist families to weave faith conversations and faith practices into their everyday life. We’ve asked some families and congregations to share with us how they have been using Woven Together. Perhaps an idea… Read more
Mar2022
Biblical foundation for faith at home
FAITH AT HOME – A guiding word Faith is integrated into family identity and practice. God always intended that our formation in faith would sit at the heart of family life. Reading a devotion together is wonderful, but God’s vision sees parents sharing their faith with their children in everyday life. Faith becomes embedded in… Read more
Mar2022
Caring for the families of your congregations
Congregational life has changed dramatically during the past two years. Perhaps the most noticeable shift has been the families and young people that once were a part of the community are now much less regular in their attendance, if present at all. Acknowledging in the mix of this change, churches within Australia have all been… Read more
Mar2022
Grandparents have a vital role!
Studies continue to confirm that parents are the key people who influence whether or not our children will have faith. This means that one of the best places for young people to ‘catch’ faith is in the home. Grandparents can also play a vital role in a child’s faith formation. Recent research highlights the enormous impact of grandparents on this particular generation of young people.
Grandparents have a great opportunity to share their faith with their grandchildren. Here are five roles that grandparents can play in enhancing their grandchildren’s faith formation.
Mar2022
RESOURCE HIGHLIGHT – Lutheran Worship book
Our Lutheran worship is full of meaning and purpose. Do we really understand why we do what we do and that the flow of worship is intentional? Have you ever wondered what INVOCATION means? Or how about ABSOLUTION? Why do we PASS THE PEACE? Or say the APOSTLES’ CREED? Order in worship has been there… Read more