Table of Contents. Family Ministry Plan

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2 Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 Our Community Our Vision Our Mission Our Values 4 Family Equipping Model: The Call on Families and the Church Family Ministry Newsletter Family Ministries At-a-Glance 5 Family Ministry Team II. Sunday Mornings Family Ministry Descriptions Spiritual Maturity Phases 6 Special Sunday Services for the Family 7 III. Equipping Opportunities Parent U Family Sermon Series Family Elective Classes Family Ministry Blog 8 Make It Yours: Bringing Church Home Family Resource Area Milestones IV. Family Discipleship 4 C s of Family Discipleship Parent-Pastor Chats (PPCs) The Family 6 Bible Reading Plan 9 V. Families on Mission Outreach to Young Moms Family Mission Trip VI. New for 2019 Backyard Kids Clubs City Crews VII. Ideas for the Future 10 Marriage Mentors Parent Mentors Family Ministry Calendar 2019 VIII. Appendices Appendix A - Spiritual Phases Descriptions 11 Appendix B - Milestone Chart 13 Appendix C - 4 Cs of Family Discipleship 15 2

3 Introduction Welcome to Cityview Family Ministries! Thank you for reading through our. We hope this will help you, as a current or soon-to-be parent, see how we would like to partner with you and equip you to disciple your children. Children are a blessing from the Lord (Ps. 127:3) and we pray with you that as we point them to Jesus and show them the way they should go that they will give their lives to know, love, and serve Jesus (Prov. 22:6). [Our Community] At Cityview, we want to be on mission in Elmhurst and surrounding communities where our families call home. We want our neighbors to take notice of Cityview like a city on a hill where we can shine our light and others would see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:14-16). There are about 200,000 people in Elmhurst and the communities that border Elmhurst. The members and attenders of our church represent over twenty different towns. This gives us a huge reach as we seek to live on mission where we live, work, and play. Elmhurst by the numbers: Population: 46,371 Households: 16,316 (of these, there are 11,929 families and over half of them include children 18 or under) Median income per household: $122,890 Schools: District 205 includes eight elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school. Elmhurst is also home to a handful of private schools including Timothy Christian, Immaculate Conception, Immanuel Lutheran, and Visitation Catholic. [Our Vision] We envision fathers and mothers living out the roles for which God created them, faithfully leading their families as they disciple their children, pray for and with them, and study the Word and worship together at home. To that end, we will equip parents to do this well, and encourage our God-given singles to participate actively in this through community living and relational disciple-making. [Our Mission] To partner with and equip parents to be the primary disciple-makers of their children as they help them move from seeking Jesus to serving Jesus through the gospel. 3

4 [Our Values] The following values are a part of the seven core values that we have at Cityview. While we believe all seven values are important and there are elements of all the values in Family Ministry, the following four drive what we do: God s Word, Missional Mindset, Gospel-Centered Ministry and Relational Disciple-Making. For more details about our values visit [Family Equipping Model: The Call on Families and the Church] As is evident from our vision and mission, we believe that the home is where the primary spiritual formation of the family takes place (Deut. 6:4-9; Psalm 78:4-8; Ephesians 6:4; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15). Therefore, whatever the church does should supplement and complement what is already being done in the home. The church still has a huge responsibility as we partner with parents in the discipleship of their children. God has intentionally built the church to be a place of encouragement, support, love, grace, mission, etc., and one of the areas where we can experience this is in our parenting. At Cityview, we promise to remain faithful to equip parents to make disciples in the home and to come alongside and continue that discipleship through our different family ministries. While there are many different strategies for how the church and home can work together, we believe the strategy that is most biblical is the Family Equipping Model. While the church is not the primary disciple-maker of your children, the church should be the primary equipper of parents so that you can be the most effective disciple-maker in your home. Since this is what the Bible teaches, we want to be a church that highlights this important parental role across all ministries, especially in the children, student, and college & career ministries. What does this mean for you as parents? It means that if you do not feel comfortable leading family devotions in your home, discipling your child, or having gospel-centered conversations with your child, then we as a church have failed you. The longer you are in this church and the longer your kids are in the different family ministries, the more and more equipped you should be to disciple your kids as they mature physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. One influential resource on our thinking regarding the Family Equipping Model is by Timothy Paul Jones called Family Ministry Field Guide: How Your Church Can Equip Parents to Make Disciples. [Family Ministry Newsletter] Every month you will receive a Family Ministry newsletter that will have important announcements, resources, calendars, and more that will keep you up to date with all our Family Ministries at Cityview. 4

5 [Family Ministries-at-a-Glance] The Family Ministries at Cityview are made up of: [The Family Ministry Team at Cityview] Kyle Bjerga, Pastor of Discipleship and Family Ministries Christina Hernandez, Children s Ministry Coordinator Jackie Bjerga, MOPS Coordinator We also have a great Kids Ministry Team (KMT) that is responsible for helping to plan and lead different Kids City events at Cityview. To learn more about our staff click here: Sunday Mornings [Family Ministry Descriptions] Cityview Family Ministries reaches parents and children from birth through college-aged young adults. Each ministry is designed around specific age ranges and development where the gospel will be presented in a contextualized, age-appropriate way. Children s Ministry Our children s ministry is called Kids City and is designed for birth through 5 th grade. Kids attend Sunday classes during our Explore hour (9a) and Worship hour (10:30a). Nursery & Toddlers: At this stage in life, we want to love the children in our care. We know the classroom workers will make your child feel loved and cared for each and every week. Our commitment to parents at this early stage in parenting is to equip you on how to have a gospel-centered home and lead regular family worship in your home. 5

6 Preschool-5 th grade: The preschool and elementary years are pivotal years for children as they begin seeing a bigger world and begin to ask questions because of their curiosity. We understand that a large majority of decisions made to follow Christ will happen in these years, therefore, we are committed to providing an environment where students can hear about the gospel on a weekly basis and can meet Jesus. Our commitment to parents at this stage is to equip you in how to intentionally disciple your children. Student Ministry Our student ministry is called Cityview Students and is designed for those in 6 th -12 th grade. Middle School & High School: Our commitment is to walk alongside parents, partnering in the equipping of mature followers of Christ in middle and high schoo. This is accomplished through teaching students how the gospel impacts their identity, character, decisions, relationships, and community. Another thing we understand is that many of the decisions, habits, and patterns that will be carried on throughout life will begin in this stage. Therefore, we hope to instill the importance of using the means of grace (Bible reading/study, prayer, service, worship, etc.). College & Career Our College & Career ministry is designed for year olds. Our commitment is to provide a place where college and career young adults from Cityview can come to be challenged and grow in their faith together. We also work to provide an atmosphere that is open and welcoming to Elmhurst College and other local college students who may be looking to find out more about Jesus. [Spiritual Maturity Phases] There are different phases that every child will go through in life, and in the church we want to honor the way God has designed them and also know that there is a development they will go through physically, emotionally, educationally, spiritually, etc. The question for us then becomes, What phases do children go through and how can we best teach them the truths of God s Word, the gospel, in age-appropriate ways? We used various research to help us determine these phases. The most helpful was Lifeway s research that led them to create the Levels of Biblical Learning. Based on this and other research, we were able to develop these phases in Kids City that help us see how to most effectively teach the truth of Scripture to children of all ages and development. To read more on Lifeway s Levels of Biblical Learning go to (See Appendix A for the Spiritual Phases Descriptions) 6

7 [Special Sunday Services for the Family] Parent Commissioning One of our milestones in the family ministry is our parent commissioning service where we have the opportunity to commission parents to be the primary disciple-makers in their homes. Family Worship Sundays Another milestone in the family ministry is a child s first time in the big worship service. Usually held on the fifth Sundays, we have the PK-5 th grade classes join the rest of the church in the worship service and for a special time just for them called Kids Corner. [Parent U] Equipping Opportunities Parent U workshops are offered roughly once a quarter during the school year. These Parent U s are designed to equip parents with the knowledge and tools necessary for discipling their children. Most of these will be presented by Cityview pastoral staff or members, and some will be presented by outside ministries or groups. Topics include family discipleship, family worship, and other family related topics. [Family Sermon Series] Every so often there will be a sermon series devoted to the family, usually focused on marriage or parenting. These series will be advertised when scheduled. If you would like to listen to our parenting sermon series Raising Havoc: Help for Parents Who Need It from May 2016 you can go to and then search for this series in the category search dropdown menu. [Family Elective Classes] During our Explore hour (9a) on Sunday mornings different elective classes run and every so often a class will be offered in The Portico track which offers practical instruction in marriage and/or parenting. Some classes offered may address a topic where we will invite the teenagers to join with their parents. From January 13-March 10, 2019 there will be an elective class called A Beautiful Design where we will focus on God s design for biblical manhood and womanhood. Starting on May 19-June 23 there will be a class called Counter Culture based on the book of the same name by David Platt. 7

8 [Family Ministry Blog] This blog is updated regularly with articles, books, resources, or other thoughts that are designed to equip parents in the discipleship of their children. [Make It Yours: Bringing Church Home] Every week the children in Kids City will bring home papers from their class that will highlight the lesson from the day as well as something they can do at home and other questions or topics for you to reinforce the lessons they ve learned. Explore the Bible and The Gospel Project, which run in our toddler through 5 th grade class, offer apps that can be downloaded (through the Apple or Google Play Stores) to help in family discipleship and reinforcing lessons that the children learned. [Family Resource Area] You will find the Family Resource Area down at the entrance to Kids City. This resource area is for parents of children, teens, and college-aged students. The resources are organized according to the 4 C s of Family Discipleship, which makes it very easy to find resources specific to the area(s) you would like to focus in on. [Milestones] As a part of our celebration in family discipleship, we recognize certain milestones in the life of children from birth through young adulthood. We want to be able to celebrate these milestones with families, so we have focused our attention on milestones we feel are most important for children s faith journeys. (See Appendix B for the Milestone Chart) Family Discipleship We want every parent to be equipped to make disciple-makers in their home. The following resources, events, and other opportunities are available to you. [4 Cs of Family Discipleship] In order to further equip parents in the discipleship of their children, we have created a framework we call the 4 C s of Family Discipleship. The 4 C s stand for: Consider, Create, Capture, and Celebrate. A fuller description of the 4 Cs can be found in our Family Discipleship packet (click HERE to read the Family Discipleship packet). (See Appendix C for the 4 C s of Family Discipleship) [Parent-Pastor Chats] PPCs are short meetings (20-30 minutes) that are modeled after Parent-Teacher Conferences in school. The main purpose behind Parent-Pastor Chats (PPCs) is to 8

9 provide an opportunity for parents to sit down with the Family Ministry Pastor and/or Children s ministry staff to connect and discuss the spiritual state and discipleship of their children. These will be scheduled for the beginning of the school year. Please contact the office if you are interested in setting one of these up sooner. [The Family 6 Bible Reading Plan] Each sermon series at Cityview we provide a bookmark that has all the dates of the sermons and the passages that will be preached for every week of the series. Pick one of these up so you and your family can immerse yourself in God s Word all week Families on Mission [Outreach to Young Moms] MOPS The goal for this ministry is to offer a bi-weekly opportunity for young mothers to gather for Bible study, prayer, and fellowship. Through this ministry we hope to engage and reach out to young mothers in the community who do not attend church or have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Through MOPS we hold regularly scheduled Moms Night Out events where we hope to see moms connect and relax in fellowship with one another over dinner. [Family Mission Trip] In the summer of 2019 we are hoping to take our first family mission trip to partner with Abraham and Susie Cervantes. Our desire is for our church not only to send our mission teams but to send them to our current missionary partners. New for 2019 The following is what we hope to roll out for (Some may be put on hold due to interest, resources, leadership, and availability.) [BKCs Backyard Kids Clubs] This summer we plan on holding Backyard Kids Clubs in Elmhurst and surrounding communities. More details to be announced this Spring. [City Crews] These groups are designed to be ongoing Backyard Kids Clubs. The goal is for families to host a City Crew at their home. The club would be made up of kids from children s friends, neighborhood or that you have a relationship with from other activities. 9

10 Ideas for the Future You can go ahead and label all the following as Coming Attractions. As we continue to serve families and equip them, we want to open up more opportunities. We believe there are more things that we can do as a church to put families in the best possible position to grow and really be a family on mission in their community. [Marriage Mentors] This would parallel a couple s premarital counseling as well as continue for at least one year after the wedding. The marriage mentors would walk alongside the couple during their marriage preparation and offer any counsel and wisdom they can from their years of marriage. [Parent Mentors] For many new parents, there is excitement and anxiety that are unmatched in life. We believe at Cityview that the home and church are partnering together in the discipleship of children. Therefore, it is our commitment to provide parent mentors who will walk alongside a new couple for a minimum of one year to help provide prayer, support, encouragement, meet practical needs, etc. for the new parents. This is offered to those who are first time parents, or parents who have special circumstances with their children that may need special attention. Family Ministry Calendar The Family Ministry events on this calendar are intended for parents, children, and teenagers to attend together. See the Kids City and Cityview Student newsletters for events specific to those ministries. January July 12 Parent U: Family Discipleship Plan 1-5 Unplugged Family Camp April August Ultimate Egg Hunt 2-9 Family Mission Trip Mother & Daughter Retreat LGYC TBD EPIC Family Event May September 3-5 Work & Worship Retreat (Fathers & Sons) 20 Family Worship Night 10 Family Worship Night November June 30 Advent Kick-Off TBD Outdoor Movie Night 10

11 Appendix A Spiritual Phases Descriptions PHASE 1 ENCOUNTER Ages: 0-1 year Ministry: Nursery Core competencies: An understanding and experience of the love of God through the care, compassion, and prayer commitment of parents, workers, and church family. Children will be introduced to God and what God has done in Jesus Christ to save humanity from our sin and brokenness. Sunday classes: Offered during the Explore the Faith (9a) and Worship Service (10:30a) hours. Curriculum: The nursery is stocked with Bible storybooks at an age-appropriate level that can be read to the children. Milestone(s): Parent Commissioning PHASE 2 EMBRACE Ages: 2-4 years old Ministry: Toddler Core competencies: Knowledge of the God's character as revealed in Scripture. An understanding that the whole Bible is pointing to Jesus Christ coming to save humanity from our sin. The children will memorize the books of the Bible and Bible facts. Children will also sing songs that are taken right from Scripture (Seeds Family Worship). Sunday classes: Offered during the Explore the Faith (9a) and Worship Service (10:30a) hours. Curriculum: The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible and The Gospel Project Toddlers Milestone(s): God s Word, Salvation PHASE 3 EXPAND Ages: 5-11 years old Ministry: PK-K; Elementary (preschool - 5th grade) Core competencies: The ability to understand how to study the Bible by looking at the context,interpreting a passage and applying it to their lives through ongoing study of books of the Bible. An understanding of the Bible s main storyline, and the WHAT and WHY of Christianity in order to engage friends with the gospel. Children will be challenged with Bible Skills and Drills related to memory. Sunday classes: Offered during the Explore the Faith (9a) and Worship Service (10:30a) hours. Each quarter the children will be upstairs in the main worship service for our Family Worship Sundays. Curriculum: Explore the Bible and The Gospel Project for Preschool and Kids Milestone(s): Salvation, Baptism, Communion, First Worship Service 11

12 PHASE 4 ENGAGE Ages: 6th-8th grade Ministry: Cityview Students Core competencies: A deep understanding of the gospel and the implications of the gospel on their identity, character, decisions, relationships, and community. Sunday meetings: Explore the Faith class during the 9a hour. Youth Group meets on Sunday evenings from 6-8p. The schedule offers EPIC events, large group times, and community groups. Curriculum: The Gospel Project curriculum is used during the Explore the Faith hour. All other teaching is developed and written by the Cityview Students pastors and teachers. Middle school community groups go deeper in discussion and application of Biblically-based video devotionals. Milestone: Purity Commitment, Service Project, Serving in the Church PHASE 5 EQUIP Ages: 9th-12th grade Ministry: Cityview Students Core competencies: The ability to take the gospel out and to impact others by sharing their faith and making disciples as well as developing convictions and values based on Scripture that will set them up for being a committed disciple of Jesus Christ going into college and beyond. Sunday meetings: Explore the Faith class during 9a hour. Youth Group meets on Sunday evenings from 6-8p. The schedule offers EPIC events, large group times, and community groups. Curriculum: The high school curriculum is developed and written by the Cityview Students pastors and teachers. The curriculum in the mornings and evenings will be a combination of exegetical and topical teaching. High school community groups go deeper in discussion and application of the Sunday morning lessons. Milestone: Service Project, Serving in the Church, Send Them Out, Graduation, Church Membership PHASE 6 ENTRUST Ages: years Ministry: College and Career Core competencies: Equipped with the ability to take gospel and be on mission within their church, community, college, and/or career. Sunday classes: The College and Career group meets on Tuesday nights from 7:30-9:00p Curriculum: This is a discussion heavy community group that will meet to discuss the Bible and how the gospel shapes all aspects of our lives. Milestone: Serving in the Church, Church Membership 12

13 Appendix B Milestones Chart 13

14 Appendix C The 4 Cs of Family Discipleship 14

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