What is Family Ministry?

Family Ministry is all about connection. First and foremost, the family connection that we have is with our brothers and sisters here at Wayne Presbyterian Church, the family of faith. Here are some real life examples of ways that family has been there for each other (some of the details are slightly changed):

• A college student hundreds of miles from home is having difficulty transitioning to campus life. Someone from the church who knows him calls and asks if he can be "adopted" by a family in the church. A family warmly agrees, and as it turns out, the mother of that family works with a person who runs a discussion group for college students in transition.

• A woman searches the Internet for resources after being separated from her husband. She calls the church and gets connected with others who are going through divorce or separation in our Divorce Care group that meets on Sunday mornings. The family pastor also refers her to a Christian counselor and puts her father on the church prayer chain when he becomes ill.

• A father is frustrated that he doesn't seem to be having quantity time or quantity time with his wife or three children. He and his wife have different parenting styles and they feel like they need to get on the same page. The call the church and sign up for our Not Yet Perfect Parents of Children course where a group is studying the book Boundaries with Kids. He connects with dads going through the same things, gets some great practical help in parenting as well as much-needed personal encouragement.

Is Family Ministry for me?

Family ministry is for everyone in this family of faith, child or grandparent, tot or teen, single, married, widowed, divorced, separated, remarried. Wherever you find yourself in the circle of life, there is a place for you here. Here are three simple questions to ask yourself:

• Am I ready to learn? Like the dad who needed some new ideas for parenting, you may feel like you would benefit from taking a class or seminar that would strengthen your relationships.

• Do I have a need? Like the woman who was separated from her husband, there are times when you just need some compassion and understanding, along with some prayerful, scriptural, direction.

• Do I want to give? Like the family who "adopted" the college student, you may be at a point in your life where you feel like you want to reach out to someone else in our congregation or in some of the places with whom we partner in Philadelphia.