Interactive Familes Information

Here is piece I wrote about Interactive Families to put in the newspaper. I am including it here also, as I don't know what they will or won't print:

Beginning on June 3, the Centralia Church of the Nazarene will begin a new approach to ministry for at least the summer months of June, July, and August. Following is an example of what the services through the summer will be like. At 9:30 AM, all of the children will gather for a common time of music targeting their ages. After about 15 minutes of music time, they will disperse into their Sunday School classes. Following Sunday School, the church will begin its morning worship service at 10:30 AM. The message for June 3 will be over Jesus’ parable of the sower and the four types of soil. The children will be presented with activity packets that contain such items as coloring sheets, word searches, crosswords, or other activities that help reinforce the parable. These activity sheets will be collected at the end of the service and put on display for all to see as they enter the foyer of the church.  That evening, the doors will open at 5:45 PM for a time of fellowship, and a meal will be served at 6:00 PM. Following the meal, at approximately 6:30 PM, the adults will gather in the sanctuary for a discussion session with the pastor. The topic of the discussion will be centered on the work of Dr. Gary Chapman, “The Five Love Languages”. Dr. Chapman’s material has also been revised for both children and teens. The object of this discussion session will be to learn the principles of these love languages, how to apply them, and how not to apply them. This will not be a one-night discussion, as each evening will tackle a different love language. The material will strongly deal with family issues; however, the principles will also apply to those without children of their own as they can be extrapolated into numerous other interpersonal relationships. While the adults are in the discussion forum, the children will be enjoying a VBS atmosphere each evening. The Bible story that the object lessons, crafts, activities, etc. will be centered around will be the parable from that morning. For example, one of the activities for June 3 will be for the children to plant seeds in each of the four types of soil described in the parable. They will be able to then watch the seeds grow over the next 12 weeks and see for themselves the fulfillment of this parable in a practical fashion.  Each week the sessions will conclude by everyone coming together at 7:15 PM for a closing session. During the closing session, a door prize will be given away for each of the age categories: children, teens, and adults. The prizes have been chosen to place some of the resources being utilized in the program into the hands of the participants.