Growing in Faith

Family Ministry
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October 2014 | Newsletter for Families of Children and Youth
Growing in Faith
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our
God, the Lord alone. You shall
love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your might. Keep
these words that I am commanding
you today in your heart. Recite
them to your children and talk
about them when you are at home
and when you are away, when you
lie down and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:4-8
The Shema – a family’s road map
to passing their faith to the next
generation.
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by Kelly Raaum
As I sat in a Children’s Conference two years ago, God was
planting a seed. The workshops I attended were led by a
pastor from a church in Katy, TX.
Those
workshops, plus his book Shift, sparked
something in me. Family Ministry is
what emerged from that weekend.
Over these past few years, I’ve been
reading, praying, and trying to
determine what it would look like for
Grace PC. It was early this summer
when Pastor Bryan approached me
with the same idea for our church
families. I knew at that point that God
was at work in this process. Of course I
jumped at the opportunity.
!But what does Family Ministry mean?
It means the church
partnering with the family. It means we have an umbrella of
support as your child grows through spiritual milestones. It
means we can give families tools to be the spiritual leaders
and teachers of their own children. It means parents first
and the church second.
!If you have a child or youth student, know that Cara Ellis,
Justin Jantz and I are here to support you and your family.
If there are areas of concern or need, please let us know
how we can come alongside you. And be on the lookout for
new or revamped programs in the coming year.
In His service,
Kelly Raaum
Director of Family Ministry [email protected]
Welcome Cara Ellis
Children’s Ministry Events
Pine Cove Kids’ Retreat
Oct 10-12
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Children’s Choirs
Sing in Worship
Oct 26
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Fall Festival
Oct 26, 4-6PM
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First Friday Friends
Thunderbird Roller Rink
Nov 7, 7-9PM
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Family Worship
Dedication Sunday
Children’s Choirs
Sing in Worship
Nov 9
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Parent Class
Wednesdays @ 6:15PM
Grace Place
Hello Grace Family! I am so excited to be here at
Grace PC. My husband and I have been praying
for a new opportunity to serve for several months.
Just a few months ago in May, I graduated with a
Master of Divinity degree from Perkins S c h o o l
of Theology. My husband and I
moved to Plano and began
the process of looking for a
church home while I was
also searching for my
“first call” as a pastor.
After only a few weeks of
attending worship at
Grace Presbyterian Church,
Pastor Bryan and Kelly
approached me with the vision
they had for families here at Grace. As w e h a d
conversations, my husband and I prayed over the
opportunity to serve and we realized God had
provided an answer to the many prayers we have
been praying.
By the end of this year I should be an ordained
pastor in the PCUSA church and will be your
Children’s Pastor. I will be able to officiate for the
Sacraments, preach the Word, and lead worship. I
can also officiate at weddings and funerals.
My primary focus here at Grace will be to minister
to your children and you as a part of the Family
Ministry team.
I look forward to the opportunity to deepen our
roots of faith and community together!!!
Peace,
Miss Cara
Director of Children’s Ministry
[email protected]
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Goodbyes and New Beginnings
It is with sadness we announce that Gail Balbinot, after 2 years of faithful service as the
administrator of Children’s Ministry, is leaving her position here at Grace.
We are excited about the new opportunities of working in a law firm. We pray that God will bless her
work as she continues on her journey.
We are most fortunate that she will continue to volunteer her time serving as a substitute teacher
and Door Keeper for Godly Play.
You will be greatly missed, Gail, but blessings on your journey!
Job Opening
We would love to hire someone already within our Grace family for the position of Family Ministry
Admin Assistant. We will accept resumes from members until late-October and then will open the
search outside our church if no one is hired. The position is part-time (15-20 hours), hourly pay.
Celebrating Transformed Lives
By Pastor Bryan
I know a testimony from the Pastor seems strange. But as the parent of two small children, Kerry and
I are also here praying God would transform the lives of our little boys. When we arrived in Plano in
2009, Cole was only four and Kerry was pregnant with Thomas.
My story of transformation is for our oldest son Cole (see photo of Cole on his first day of school at
the GPC day school). He is a sweet, kind and quiet little man. He’s also not somebody who naturally
seeks attention (he and his mother share that in common).
When we first arrived, Cole would go to children’s choir rehearsal but he
would not stand in the sanctuary during worship to sing with the other
kids. That was five years ago, but I can remember it clearly.
This past summer Cole participated in both VBS and our summer
music and arts camp (SMACK). As I watched Cole sing and act, I
couldn’t help but remember the little boy from five years ago. He’s
gotten so much more from our programs than we’ve put into it.
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Both our boys re-enact Bible stories they’re learning in Godly Play and
Sunday School. Both our boys pray at meals and with us as a family at
night. And both our boys participate in the music programs.
Cole at GPC day school 2009
So as a parent, I am grateful for the hundreds of volunteers who have poured their lives into our sons.
They’re becoming faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. And I celebrate how God is transforming them on
a daily basis through the people who serve in children’s ministries here at Grace.
Connection Youth
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Youth
! Ministry Events
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! Middle School
Pine Cove
! Retreat
! Oct 10-12
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!Youth Dinner
!Oct 19, 6-8PM
!Youth Room
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! Fall Festival
!Oct 26, 4-6PM
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! Connection
Every
! Wednesday
7-8:30PM
Youth Room
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Wednesday night
youth events include a
time of praise and
worship led by our
youth.
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If you have a teenager
interested in joining
our youth praise team,
contact Justin at
[email protected]
PARENTS: Are you receiving the weekly reminder from our
Youth Ministries team? Contact Justin ([email protected]) to
receive up-to-the-minute news.
Connection- a relationship in which a
person, thing, or idea is linked or
associated with someone or
something else. Here at Grace we are
all about connections. We strive for
our students to connect and build
relationships with each other, and also
to build a relationship with Jesus. We
want every student that walks into this
building to feel welcomed and wanted.
Bobbie and I are excited to see what God
will do through Connection, and we
have seen God doing new and
exciting things already as we
kicked off the new school
year. We cannot wait to see
what God has in store for
the rest of the year.
Justin Jantz
Director of Youth Ministry
[email protected]
Did you know?