Ways to Strengthen Families at Church ? All Things Recreation ...

by Phil Anderson

Excepert From: Operating Manual for Church Recreation Centers??

?????????????????? Keys to a Close Knit Family

???????????? Think back to when you were a child?? What memories of growing up in your family stand out to you?? You probably remembered many happy occasions, but also some of the more traumatic incidents as well.? Some of these memories, if not all of them, may have been centered on some form of recreational activity that you were enjoying with your family.? It may have been playing catch in the backyard, or that camping trip where a ?wild animal? came sniffing through your campsite.? As you can attest from your own personal experience, recreation provided the opportunity for many pleasant memories to be created for you and your family.? Now, you have the opportunity to do the same for families in your church.

???????????? Noted family and marriage author, Gary Smalley, writes in his book Love is a Decision (Word Publishing, 1989, pgs. 157-172), that there are three keys to discovering the secret of a close knit family.

???????????? 1. Providing Opportunities to be together.???One of the essentials for happy families is the commitment to do things as a family on a regular basis.? Despite different interests, everyone makes an effort to enjoy activities together.

???????????? 2. Shared experiences that turn into shared trials.? Going through challenging experiences as a family draws people together like virtually nothing else.? Fortunately, these become the experiences that families often look back upon with humor.

???????????? 3. Bonds of Love.??Shared experiences combined with unexpected shared trials provide the recipe for a ?crazy glue? mixture that?s perfect for family bonding.? After the challenge of a new experience, the ?glue? hardens to create a permanent bond of family members.

???????????? Obviously, the church is in the unique position to accomplish each of these goals.? While we may not plan ?traumatic experiences,? certain activities do create a level of adventure and there are activities that can be planned to create tension and cooperation.

???????????? Of course, as we plan for ?the Family? we must be quick to remember the traditional family is becoming more fragmented.? There will be single parent families, blended families, singles, widowed, and divorced families that will need to be considered in your planning.? Special consideration may be required as you target a specific group to insure that you don?t accidently overlook a family group unintentionally.

?Providing opportunities to be together

???????????? Sometimes in all the busy-ness of life, it may be that the church simply provides opportunities for families to be together and interact together.? As you plan recreational events for the family, keep in mind that the focal group crosses all age group lines of your church?adult ministry, youth ministry, children?s and preschool ministry.? Be sure to consult with other staff members or lay leadership who have responsibilities for those age groups so that the activities will be properly coordinated.? This will also provide a broader base of leadership for carrying out many of the functions.

???????????? 1. Family Nights to attend special events in the community

???????????????????????? The idea of attending an event as a large group that will be seated together, and knowing that tickets and transportation will be handled by the recreation leadership, is appealing to many families.? Attending as a group may also prove to be more economical for your families.? Events to attend might be:

??????????? ??????????? a. Sports events like baseball, football, basketball, soccer, or hockey.

???????????????????????? b. Family oriented Theater or Musical events that may come to your area.

???????????????????????? c. Other family events like the circus, ice shows, fairs, amusement parks.

???????????? 2. Family Night Events at Church

???????????????????????? a. Super Bowl Party?show the game on the big screen and serve all types of stadium foods.? Edit out the commercials and do ?Church commercials? either through skits or video.? Make it an evangelistic event either through a message at halftime.

???????????????????????? b. Fall Festival?provide a Christian alternative for Halloween by offering a carnival at your church.? Offer carnival games for the kids and, if your budget allows, add some inflatable games (like the moon walk) or a petting zoo.? Offer some activities that the adults can enjoy like a cake walk or dunking booth.

???????????????????????? c. Family Fitness Fair?promote your fitness ministry by offering a Family Fitness Fair.? Enlist professionals from your area to speak on various topics regarding personal fitness, including activities and topics for children.? Offer several options with a rotating schedule so participants can choose 2-4 classes during the fair.? Provide informational booths as well, with give-aways and coupons promoting your program.

???????????????????????? d. Church Picnic?still one of the best activities for families is to offer a covered dish affair at your church or local park.? After the meal, plan on some activities in which all ages can participate together like water balloon games, and then offer large group softball or volleyball games.? Perhaps offer challenge matches?staff vs. deacons, youth vs. parents, etc.

???????????????????????? e. Spring Fling?directed towards preschoolers or young children and their parents, offer fun games that are age appropriate at your church playground or local park.? Focus on the children and parents interacting together, but use this opportunity to encourage parents and to invite guests to participate in a fun church activity.

???????????????????????? f. Family Talent Show?offer a talent show with the only stipulation being that all acts have to involve at least two members from the same family.? Encourage both serious and funny acts for the variety show.

???????????????????????? g. Funniest Family Videos?create a fun church fellowship by having your church families submit excerpts of their funniest home videos.? Offer prizes for the most unusual and funniest videos.

???????????????????????? h. Family Pet Show?invite your families to bring their pets to church.? Begin with a parade where all the animals are shown.? Then offer a time for pets to display talents or special tricks.? Enlist judges to award the best looking and best behaved in each animal category.? Be sure to have a clean-up committee ready!

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Source: http://recreationandsportsministry.com/2012/02/28/ways-to-strengthen-families-at-church/

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