The Grace Life Family Ministry . . .
Your family is important to you, to Jesus and to us. . .
. . . and we have a place for them all! What we try to impress on all of our participants, regardless of age, are three main things. They are:
1. God loves you no matter what.
2. You can trust God and Jesus no matter what
3 God created you with intention and purpose. You are His masterpiece and He did not make any mistakes. (You have value)
Many parents bring their family to church in hopes that church will teach them the "right" way and the "wrong" way. We learned long ago, that we have a very limited amount of time to spend with these kids and we don't want to use that time trying to manipulate behavior. We want to use these minutes to do a show and tell of how much Jesus loves them IN SPITE of their behavior. We believe that if they can grasp just how much they are loved by their Savior, their behavior will follow the masterpiece that they have been made. Risky? Maybe. But......we really do believe we (and you) can trust Him no matter what. Actually, it is not risky at all.
We focus on Jesus. Just Jesus. We find that when we do that, the three messages above will take care of themselves. What we do NOT want to do with our time with your family is to teach them how to be "good". Behavior is not what we are trying to teach. In fact, we are not trying to "teach" them anything, but rather we hope to display the Love of Jesus to them by thrilling them with the love and acceptance shown in one Bible story after another. This may not look like a normal classroom setting, but may instead involve playing and sharing what is important to them.
And yes, this is true of teenagers, too. By the time they are teenagers, they know what is right and what is wrong. If you are not convinced, just watch and see if they try to do anything without their parents knowledge. Right and wrong behavior is not the job of a Family Ministry, the love of Jesus is our main tool! And what a great tool it is!!! It can cast out fear, sorrow, loneliness, unacceptance and so many other things!
So come on it! Bring your family! They will be in good hands and great hearts! Here are the details of each class:
Nursery: Birth - 4 years old - Located in the Main Church Building. Led by Miss Lucy, a pediatric nurse and lover of Jesus.
Elementary group (K-4th grade) - Taught by a team of amazing adults. Ryan and Jenny Turner, David and Laura Batista, and Tracy Sims rotate through this age group which brings freshness and new smiles to all involved. They meet in the 645 building immediately following the music in the main session. After the music, the teachers will meet you in the lobby near the coffee station.
Middle School (5th - 8th grade) - Also taught by a team consisting of Bruce Weller, Dawn Tyson and Jana Osborne. Assorted technology as well as old school Bibles (books? An endangered species) are used along with current events, videos, footballs and other tools to show the love that is given to them by Jesus. This group meets in the main building in the center room next to the kitchen immediately following the music in the main session.
High School - (9th grade and up) On the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, this group meets in "The Warehouse" in the back of the 645 Building after music is over in the main session and are led by Jose DeUrioste and Mary Craig. There is always a great discussion on how Jesus is evident in their everyday live. Teenagers are also encouraged to come to Ground Zero on Tuesday nights (in the same location) from 7:00 - 9:00. Food, games, and lots of discussion fueled by Jesus sitings, videos, music and more are the usual activities. Other events for teens include BigStuf Teen Camp each summer at Panama City Beach and a fall retreat.
Questions? Email Tracy at [email protected]
1. God loves you no matter what.
2. You can trust God and Jesus no matter what
3 God created you with intention and purpose. You are His masterpiece and He did not make any mistakes. (You have value)
Many parents bring their family to church in hopes that church will teach them the "right" way and the "wrong" way. We learned long ago, that we have a very limited amount of time to spend with these kids and we don't want to use that time trying to manipulate behavior. We want to use these minutes to do a show and tell of how much Jesus loves them IN SPITE of their behavior. We believe that if they can grasp just how much they are loved by their Savior, their behavior will follow the masterpiece that they have been made. Risky? Maybe. But......we really do believe we (and you) can trust Him no matter what. Actually, it is not risky at all.
We focus on Jesus. Just Jesus. We find that when we do that, the three messages above will take care of themselves. What we do NOT want to do with our time with your family is to teach them how to be "good". Behavior is not what we are trying to teach. In fact, we are not trying to "teach" them anything, but rather we hope to display the Love of Jesus to them by thrilling them with the love and acceptance shown in one Bible story after another. This may not look like a normal classroom setting, but may instead involve playing and sharing what is important to them.
And yes, this is true of teenagers, too. By the time they are teenagers, they know what is right and what is wrong. If you are not convinced, just watch and see if they try to do anything without their parents knowledge. Right and wrong behavior is not the job of a Family Ministry, the love of Jesus is our main tool! And what a great tool it is!!! It can cast out fear, sorrow, loneliness, unacceptance and so many other things!
So come on it! Bring your family! They will be in good hands and great hearts! Here are the details of each class:
Nursery: Birth - 4 years old - Located in the Main Church Building. Led by Miss Lucy, a pediatric nurse and lover of Jesus.
Elementary group (K-4th grade) - Taught by a team of amazing adults. Ryan and Jenny Turner, David and Laura Batista, and Tracy Sims rotate through this age group which brings freshness and new smiles to all involved. They meet in the 645 building immediately following the music in the main session. After the music, the teachers will meet you in the lobby near the coffee station.
Middle School (5th - 8th grade) - Also taught by a team consisting of Bruce Weller, Dawn Tyson and Jana Osborne. Assorted technology as well as old school Bibles (books? An endangered species) are used along with current events, videos, footballs and other tools to show the love that is given to them by Jesus. This group meets in the main building in the center room next to the kitchen immediately following the music in the main session.
High School - (9th grade and up) On the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, this group meets in "The Warehouse" in the back of the 645 Building after music is over in the main session and are led by Jose DeUrioste and Mary Craig. There is always a great discussion on how Jesus is evident in their everyday live. Teenagers are also encouraged to come to Ground Zero on Tuesday nights (in the same location) from 7:00 - 9:00. Food, games, and lots of discussion fueled by Jesus sitings, videos, music and more are the usual activities. Other events for teens include BigStuf Teen Camp each summer at Panama City Beach and a fall retreat.
Questions? Email Tracy at [email protected]