Last week, one of our small group leaders told me this story, and I wanted to share it with you:

“We’ve been in small group with this same set of students for multiple small group sessions now. And these students have known each other for quite some time now, but more often than not, small group was about rallying students together, quieting them down to pay attention, and attempting to herd them in the right direction.

Well this week, our group FINALLY opened up!

We’ve been attempting to get the students to go deep and open up, but this week, our group finally turned a corner, and we had that moment.

During the group members shared deeply impactful and important moments with other members of the group and even indicated that they were trusting the others with this information, because it could be used against them in the future, if it wasn’t handled with care.

At the end, our group all said how much more they appreciate it when our group went like this, and how they felt like they could really trust each other after this night.”

And this, parents, grandparents and guardians is the reason why we do what we do.

Students live in a world where friendships and hollow and temporary, and where most people in their lives are untrustworthy.

In addition to solid friendships, a good small group will also challenge, point and direct students to a deeper walk with Jesus.

Your child is wonderfully made!

We’ll tell your child they’re wonderful in Parkview Kids, but we know it’ll mean much more coming from you! They can never hear it enough. Check out these books you can read to them at home to remind them that God made them special.

We know parenting is a big job. And raising great kids can be easier when you have a little help. Your church is in your corner cheering you on. We’ve developed a three-part strategic plan to help you raise kids that make wise choices.

1. Prioritize God’s wisdom at home.
Our kids will build their lives on something, and we all want that to be the right thing. God gives us wisdom because he loves us, and we want to help your child know how to apply that wisdom to their life.

Each month, we give your child a “Verse of the Month” postcard and encourage them to take it home and memorize it. When your child is able to bury the truth of God’s wisdom in their heart and mind, you’re giving them a solid foundation to stand on—a foundation that never changes even though the world around them does.

2. Give your child another wise voice.
Every week in Parkview Kids, your child sits in a circle of friends with a caring leader who can be another voice of wisdom in their life. This leader is teaching them about faith and friendship, helping them grow in their trust of God, and pointing them toward Jesus, who loves them more than they could ever imagine. And when your child sits in their Parkview Kids circle as often as they can, that relationship grows stronger and that additional voice of wisdom grows louder.

3. Make Memories with your kids so you can have fun and grow together.
We believe families should have fun…and lots of it! When families have fun together, they grow stronger. That’s why we create a monthly free ebook of 101 Things to Do with your family every season (coming soon!). We believe what happens at home is more even important than what happens at church. When you as parents have fun with your kids, over time your influence with them will grow. And that’s a parenting goal we all want to achieve.

Memorizing scripture with our children can be a powerful tool to tuck truth deep in their hearts.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 encourages us to impress truth into our 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. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Raising our children in Truth is no small task. This month as a church we are talking about prayer and specifically how Jesus prayed, which is modeled in Matthew 6: 9-11. This passage of scripture, often referred to as The Lord’s Prayer or The Our Father, is meant to be a starting point and model of how we can pray too. Challenge yourself as a family to memorize the words of Jesus and tuck His truth into your hearts. You can find a free printable of The Lord’s Prayer here. There are a few different designs to choose from. Pick the one that you want to learn as a family and print a few copies to hang throughout your home. Talk about one line at a time and commit it to memory. Build on that phrase and commit the next phrase to memory. Each time you or your child see the scripture, read it out loud. Little by little you will tuck these truths in your hearts and minds, rising children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).

In the hustle and bustle of the season it can be easy to lose sight of why we are celebrating Christmas in the first place! One way to keep our hearts and minds set on the true meaning of Christmas is to do an advent reading calendar. We’ve got a plan for you to read a little bit every day as you approach Christmas morning. On the second page, we have a list of activities you can do anytime during the month of December to spread Christmas cheer.

You can find the Advent Calendar and Activities below!

Are you looking for a fun and meaningful way to countdown with your family to Easter? We LOVE the Jesus Storybook Bible because of the way it gently points every story in the Bible back to Jesus. Faith Gateway has put together a special reading plan with a printable paper chain that will help prepare your hearts for Easter as you read through the stories in the Bible. There are also other fun coloring page freebies included.