1 Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. 2 Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm, [therefore] 18 fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 11: 1-2, 18-19)

"The Church is one generation away from extinction.” While I do not know the origin of this quote, the truth of the message haunts me. In the church we call ourselves the family of God because we are adopted by God. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. As with all families, then, we have a responsibility to God and each other to teach the youngest generation about God’s faithfulness and commandments, and above all, about God’s son, Jesus Christ. We must be deliberate in passing our faith on to our children. We must be explicit in teaching the Scriptures, explaining our doctrine and the love of God to them.

Thanks be to God our church family is growing! But this means that you, as “aunts” and “uncles” of the faith, need to step up to help our parents and grandparents in teaching God’s love. They can not, and should not do it alone. Both children’s Sunday school and the nursery need volunteers. Embrace and accept the importance of our call to actively disciple the next generation of Christians. Don’t be a distant relative.

I have heard many excuses for not teaching, among them, “I’m already too busy.” “I took my turn, let someone else take a turn.” Or, “I’m not gifted in that area.” I can remember Sunday school teachers from my childhood, several of whom were older. I remember grandparent types who loved for me to sit with them in worship; I remember them in my children’s lives, too.

First, thank God for the faithful few who have been carrying this load for so long, and then please, please, please- call Terry Sapp, Nancy Parkhouse or Traci White to volunteer to help in sharing and nurturing the faith formation of our children in Sunday school and in the nursery.

I am burdened for the growth of this church and the continuation of our faith. The church grows through relationships with God and each other, not in wishing it were so! Remember, we are only one generation away from extinction. Volunteer today.

Grace and Peace for the journey,
Pastor Sue