Family Church (Part 2)
Are you new here?
In Part 1, we looked at what "Family Church" is/isn't and discussed both practical and spiritual aspects of discipleship in the home. Here's a brief recap:
Family Church is what we call the dedicated "sacred" time we spend with our kids each week, where distractions are eliminated and our focus is on Jesus.
Family Church is not some isolationist thing meant to replace connection to a larger body of Christ Followers.
Making this time together a priority is critical because spiritual development doesn't happen by accident.
The first biblical charge to discipleship is directed toward parents to raise their children in the ways of the Lord. We (parents) are meant to be the primary spiritual leaders in our kids' lives.
We also gave one example of how "Family Church" works in our own home.
Now in Part 2, we want to share another example of what Family Church looks like in another household. Multiple illustrations are so valuable because no two families are alike. What works in our home may not work in yours. So we're hoping this blog series will simply encourage you to explore discipleship in your family's context.
About the Author
Lonny Dyer is the Lead Pastor of Keystone Church in Colorado Springs. In so many ways, this community has been the "sister church" to L24 Collective, sharing the same heart for discipleship through relationship. They do it naturally, they do it collectively, and they do it well!
Together, Lonny and his wife Teresa have adopted a "discipleship starts in the home" mentality for raising their kids. They'll be the first to tell you, "There isn't some secret formula. It isn't glamorous. And it really isn't as hard as you may think." Part 2 gives a first-person account of their family's journey.
Getting Started
Teresa and I were making an enormous transition from our former church in Indiana to Colorado to plant Keystone. We took our last couple of months before moving and spent Sunday mornings either visiting another church family we'd always wanted to try, or we would stay home at the "Dyer Deck." During that time, it was the latter that made the biggest familial impact. We discovered some really fun things about each other as we shared Sundays as a family.
How It Worked
Most of the things I thought were going to be really important (like content and story) took a side seat to:
Making Breakfast together. It was a great time to share our week, update our family progress, and teach principals that we were learning.
Naming our times together—calling it "Sundays on the Dyer Deck." (We ate together on our back deck as much as possible.) I think this was really important because it created something distinct from "Just another morning in the house."
Playing our favorite worship music while our daughter Lily danced around the room freely. We didn’t have an “official” time of worship, necessarily. We just had music going in the background and it led to some wonderful spontaneous moments.
Taking hikes around the countryside surrounding our home, simply enjoying the beauty of God's creation.
Talking about our vision for our family—what kind of future we dreamed of together.
Sharing our new-found household culture and encouraging each other to live it out in everyday life beyond our four walls.
The Best Part
What I found most refreshing about all the above was the spontaneity of the conversation between us. No time ever seemed to be wasted! Even though most of what we did was to re-connect with our family, we found that we would naturally weave principals and stories of creation, Jesus, the Gospels (etc) into everything we did. It was such an amazing time, that we've worked to preserve it in our own family and encourage it in others by holding our church gatherings on Saturday nights. We wouldn't trade our family connection time on Sunday mornings for anything!
Family Church Resources
From age-specific Bibles and devotionals to spiritual leadership books for parents and “Family Church” media aids, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite resources to help you disciple your children. Click the button below to check them out!
