Parish Family Ministry | December
Hello, Parish Families!
As Christmas approaches, we want you to know how glad we are that you and your children are part of The Parish family. We love working together with you and seeing your kids grow in knowledge and love of Jesus.
The next month is stocked with excitement in Family Ministry, so keep reading for a taste of what’s to come. If you’re new to The Parish community, take a look at our Parish Kids page to learn our three big ideas for each age group, as well as an introduction to our weekly small group leaders.
It’s all eyes toward Christmas! Our preschoolers will learn that Jesus is special because He is God’s Son. As our memory verse, we’ll focus on the words of the angel, “I bring you good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10).
At home: Place your family’s nativity scene at eye-level for your little ones (assuming it’s not breakable!) and allow them to help you place each figure, explaining a little bit about each one as you set it out. You might even keep the baby Jesus figure hidden until Christmas morning to add an extra level of anticipation!
In our elementary environments, we’ll focus on joy: finding a way to be happy even when things don’t go your way. As Paul said in Philippians 4:4, “Always be joyful because you belong to the Lord. I will say it again. Be joyful!”
At home: The best way to teach this lesson is to live it! Be open with your elementary-age kids when things don’t go the way you hoped, whether with your football team or at work or while Christmas shopping. Invite them to help you look for joy in all situations.
Middle schoolers will discuss the Christmas story as well, but in a way they may have never thought about before. As we learned in the “Story of God” series, the stories we tell and believe matter, and our students will learn there is much, much more to Christmas than the wooden figures in a nativity scene.
At home: Set a time with your middle school kids to watch one of their favorite movies together, even if you’ve watched it a hundred times. Talk about what makes it such a good story, and how you can see elements of the story of God in it—good and evil, redemption, hope, trust.
If you didn’t get one at our Thanksgiving lunch, be sure to pick up an Advent calendar at the check-in station in the preschool area. Each day in December includes a focus on part of the Christmas story as well as a suggested family activity.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Carols and Candlelight: Thursday, December 22 at 7pm. Make plans to spend this evening with us at The Parish a few nights before Christmas. Let the kids stay up a little late—they’ll love this time of fun and family worship as we celebrate of the birth of Jesus.
No worship services on Sunday, December 25 and Sunday, January 1.
We hope you and your families had a delightful Thanksgiving. And as always, if you have questions, concerns, or feedback about how we do Family Ministry at The Parish, contact us anytime!
