FAMILY LIFE
"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord." Psalm 78:4
| Sing Eden's children of your birth;
Sing of earth, her stricken glory green and good, yet stands;
Sing Adam's daughters, sons of Eve,
Who believe your Maker's words and trust His wounded hands.
Seize the light; the darkness cannot comprehend
Till God arise and Eden bloom again. - L. Dey |
How does TBC serve families:
The Ordinary Means of Grace
At TBC we emphasize the importance of a slow and ordinary salvation and sanctification through corporate worship. Word and Sacrament and Prayer are God's ordinary means of working out in our lives the grace and glory of Jesus Christ. At TBC you will recieve great encouragement in your desire to see your children worship God. A sermon notes page for children, no children's church after third grade, and parents sitting with their children are all aids in your child's coming to hear God in worship.
Counsel and resources for parenting
The TBC community is rich in men and women able to counsel single parents and first generation Christian families. We also work hard to make available some of the best resources in Christ's church for Christian parenting (see links below). Rounding out our ministry to families is weekly Sunday School and seasons of worship like Advent and Lent. Traveling through these seasons of worship carefully, with Christ at the center, awakens and shapes the imagination toward the love of God as revealed in His Gospel.
Old Friends for Young People
Being a small church provides children with a rare opportunity to develop inter-generational relationships. More to the point, young children at TBC have old friends. Of course such relationships are possible in any healthy church, but in a small church they happen easily, naturally. Such relationships greatly assist the transfer of God's wisdom and God's story into the lives of the next generation. A practical expression of this effort is our Inter-generational Sunday School class for Senior High students (9-12 grade).
Theological & Literature-Based Christian Education
Our Sunday ministry to families includes weekly Sunday School classes. Classes for younger children are rich in theological teaching, using the curriculum designed by Children Desiring God. In these classes children become aware of God's grand story of redemption - His unfailing love through Jesus Christ. When students reach high-school age they are ready to explore God's wisdom in great literature and the great Christian catechisms. The Father Brown Stories of G.K. Chesterton, Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost, and the stories of Flannery O'Connor have all been part of our high school teaching. The Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism have adorned the doctrine of God for these students in recent years. All this to entice young adults to an early and mature adulthood.
Parenting Resources:
"Eden's Children" by Mrs. Linney Dey
"Getting Our Children's Attention by Grace for God's Sake" by Mr. Kelly Knowlden
"Hannah Montana & Wholistic Cultural Discernment" by Ken Myers
"Embracing God's Plan for Authority in Parenting" by Dr. Tedd Tripp
"A Prayer for Alex: What to do when your child says he doesn't believe anymore" by Michael Spencer
"Harry Potter and the Attack of the Critics" by Martin Cothran