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Project 18
One of the major areas of concern in every church has to do with the development of its young people. We, as parents and church leaders, want to see our children develop into mature Christian adults. An effort that I am currently working on seeks to equip parents and position the church so that we are influencing our children to become what we believe God wants them to be. We named this effort, Project 18.
The first step in this effort was to develop a description of what we believe a young person who was born at our church and who grew up at our church should become by the time they reached the age of 18. The description addresses the young person’s spiritual life, character and morality, academic achievement and skills, and other areas related to responsible behavior. It is located below.
I want to encourage you to develop such a description for your children. This activity began during a one week, nightly Vacation Bible School series. My next step is evaluating the things we as parents and the church are doing that are contributing to developing our youth in these directions. The final planning step is to discover what is missing in our development activities and provide those additional things that need to be done to help our youth achieve their development goals.
I’ll keep you posted on our progress.
– Jimmy Hurd
What Shall Our Children Become?
Parents and the church are the two key sources of positive influence in a child’s life.We, as the Oakland Church of Christ, seek to become a positive setting for the full development of every child who is a part of our church community.It is our hope that by the time a young person who grows up at Oakland reaches age 18 he/she will possess the following qualities.
SPIRITUAL LIFE
A committed follower of Jesus Christ who has been baptized and is seeking to conform every part of his/her life to the will of the Lord.He/she is knowledgeable of the Bible and continues to study the Word individually and with others.He/she is active in the church with weekly participation at worship assemblies, Bible classes and fellowship groups.He/she is active in serving using his/her spiritual gift(s) and shares his/her faith with others.
CHARACTER & MORALITY
A person whose character and morals reflect that of Jesus Christ.He/she is loving, kind, honest and respectful.He/she has a positive attitude, a good self-image, is responsible and has a good relationship with his/her parents/guardians.He/she is able to make good decisions by choosing between right and wrong.That ability is reflected in the fact that he/she is sexually pure, drug free, and is without a criminal record.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SKILLS
A good student who has/will graduate from high school with plans of attending college or other post high school training program.He/she is a good reader and can communicate well verbally and in writing.
OTHER
A productive citizen who is/able to be employed.He/she has a good work ethic and is able to lead/work well with others.He/she is a registered voter, a non-smoker and is mentally and physically healthy.He/she is able to manage money responsibly.
One of the major areas of concern in every church has to do with the development of its young people. We, as parents and church leaders, want to see our children develop into mature Christian adults. An effort that I am currently working on seeks to equip parents and position the church so that we are influencing our children to become what we believe God wants them to be. We named this effort, Project 18.
The first step in this effort was to develop a description of what we believe a young person who was born at our church and who grew up at our church should become by the time they reached the age of 18. The description addresses the young person’s spiritual life, character and morality, academic achievement and skills, and other areas related to responsible behavior. It is located below.
I want to encourage you to develop such a description for your children. This activity began during a one week, nightly Vacation Bible School series. My next step is evaluating the things we as parents and the church are doing that are contributing to developing our youth in these directions. The final planning step is to discover what is missing in our development activities and provide those additional things that need to be done to help our youth achieve their development goals.
I’ll keep you posted on our progress.
– Jimmy Hurd
What Shall Our Children Become?
Parents and the church are the two key sources of positive influence in a child’s life.We, as the Oakland Church of Christ, seek to become a positive setting for the full development of every child who is a part of our church community.It is our hope that by the time a young person who grows up at Oakland reaches age 18 he/she will possess the following qualities.
SPIRITUAL LIFE
A committed follower of Jesus Christ who has been baptized and is seeking to conform every part of his/her life to the will of the Lord.He/she is knowledgeable of the Bible and continues to study the Word individually and with others.He/she is active in the church with weekly participation at worship assemblies, Bible classes and fellowship groups.He/she is active in serving using his/her spiritual gift(s) and shares his/her faith with others.
CHARACTER & MORALITY
A person whose character and morals reflect that of Jesus Christ.He/she is loving, kind, honest and respectful.He/she has a positive attitude, a good self-image, is responsible and has a good relationship with his/her parents/guardians.He/she is able to make good decisions by choosing between right and wrong.That ability is reflected in the fact that he/she is sexually pure, drug free, and is without a criminal record.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SKILLS
A good student who has/will graduate from high school with plans of attending college or other post high school training program.He/she is a good reader and can communicate well verbally and in writing.
OTHER
A productive citizen who is/able to be employed.He/she has a good work ethic and is able to lead/work well with others.He/she is a registered voter, a non-smoker and is mentally and physically healthy.He/she is able to manage money responsibly.
The Man in the Mirror
The story that continues to be covered in both national and world news has been the death of Michael Jackson. Without a doubt, he was one of the greatest entertainers ever. One of the songs that he recorded in 1987 was entitled, "Man in the Mirror." The chorus says, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer. If you wanna make the world a better place. Take a look at yourself, then make a change."
James 1:22-24 states, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word and does not do what it says is like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like" (NIV).
James' point is that we look in the mirror to examine ourselves - to find the flaws - so that we can make the needed changes. The word of God is like a mirror. We look into and we see ourselves - what needs to be changed. When we look into that mirror, see what needs to be changed, we need to take the needed action to make the changes. That's how your family becomes better. That's how your church becomes better. That's how the world becomes better.
Click here to read the entire sermon.
James' point is that we look in the mirror to examine ourselves - to find the flaws - so that we can make the needed changes. The word of God is like a mirror. We look into and we see ourselves - what needs to be changed. When we look into that mirror, see what needs to be changed, we need to take the needed action to make the changes. That's how your family becomes better. That's how your church becomes better. That's how the world becomes better.
Click here to read the entire sermon.
