We believe that strong families and amazing marriages are foundational to the health and strength of our Church and community. Passing on our spiritual legacy is one of the most vital roles that we can have as parents. The passage that comes to mind while in helping us to understand the imprtance of passing along God's Word to our children comes from Deuteronomy 6:7...

"Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Our Family's Ministry believes in communicating the Word with our children during various family times. God's Word teaches us that we as parents need to be impressing the Word on our children...that means talking to our kids about the bible in the morning time, at meal time, during drive time and at bed time.

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We strongly encourage that every family in the church have at least one night each week devoted to building strong bonds, faith in God, and treasured memories that will affect not only your children but generations to come. -Ron and Linda Brumley Elder and Women's Ministry Leader from the Seattle Church of Christ.

Ten things to keep in mind when planning your family devotionals:

1.  Be regular, weekly, scheduled (i.e., 7-8pm, everyone knows what to expect). Not too long…; 20/30 minutes, plus game time.
2.  Have lots of fun; laugh and be happy.
3.  Involve everyone, youngest to oldest.
4.  Plan ahead. Both mom and dad and kids give input.
5.  Vary each week. No ruts!
6.  Ask open-ended questions ("What do you think?" "How do you feel about that?" Why do you feel that'’s important?" "What else?" "What’s your opinion on that?" "Why do you feel that way?", etc.).
7.  Sing, pray, share "good news", play games, cards, discussions on various topics, etc.
8.  Use the Bible each devo. Everyone, even youngest, should have their own Bible.
9.  Include other families in your family devos.
10.  Turn off the TV, phone, computer and all electronic games. It'’s time to focus on the family.

This article was written by Ron and Linda Brumley  (Ron and Linda have served as Elder and Women's Ministry Leader for several years.  They have served in the San Diego Church of Christ, Chicago Church of Christ, Denver Church of Christ and currently serve in the Seattle Church of Christ.  Ron & Linda share their thoughts on how to raise disciples of Jesus).

It has been a challenge to try to distill in a few paragraphs the experiences that most helped us in raising our four children to become disciples. Obviously, and of paramount importance, what contributed most to this great blessing is the mercy and grace of our very forgiving and loving heavenly Father. God would be totally justified in striking us deaf, dumb and blind if we didn't give Him all the credit and honor He is due. Neither our kids nor we would have made it into the Kingdom without the rather obvious intervention of God on numerous occasions. With that foundation, there are several specifics that might be of encouragement to others who are in the process of raising their young families to become disciples of Jesus Christ.