Parish Family Ministry | April
Happy April! This month at The Parish, our kids are coming right along with us as we move through Lent and toward Easter. We can’t wait to celebrate our risen Lord together on April 16!
Please note that on April 30 there will be no family ministry environments, as we’ll be celebrating child baptism and dedication. Just like on Easter, we expect to have a full house, so come for the 9 or 10:30am service as a family. We can’t wait to recognize this foundational day in the lives of our families!
Here’s a glimpse of what we’re learning this month in Parish Kids:
In preschool, these little guys will be saying, “Who is the best? JESUS is the best!” They are studying the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and later in the month, learning about Jesus’s charge to Peter and the disciples to be the Church. Our memory verse is John 3:16, “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.”
At home: We have sticker sheets available to encourage preschoolers to remember this verse. Grab one on Sunday if you didn’t get one last week! Get the whole family involved in helping these little ones remember how much God loves us by having everyone repeat the memory verse together. Fill that sticker chart up, and bring it back at the end of the month for a little surprise!
In our elementary groups, we’re focusing on humility: putting others first by giving up what you think you deserve. Entitlement is a constant battle for many of us, and this lesson can go a long way toward winning it! We’ll study Jesus washing His disciples’ feet; His prayer in the garden; and His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. Our memory verse is Philippians 2:3: “Don’t do anything only to get ahead. Don’t do it because you are proud. Instead, be humble. Value others more than yourselves.”
At home: Try a Secret Agent Humility Project: have your child choose someone to encourage, put ahead of themselves, and serve. You choose someone, too! Share stores about how you accomplished this and the impact you think it had on the person you served. Also talk about specific ways it affected you and your child.
Our middle schoolers are learning that through Jesus, we have an all-access pass to God, to power over temptation, and to a life of purpose. These guys are growing into a new understanding of Jesus, which means Easter will begin taking on a more powerful meaning for them.
At home: Check out the Parent Cue podcast about the All Access series. You can also watch a preview of the series here. These resources can help you be prepared to answer your student’s questions or just talk about what they’re learning in this series.
As always, if you have questions, concerns, or feedback about how we do Family Ministry at The Parish, contact us anytime!
