January 2010 Guest Column - Monte Cyr
Family Ministry
by Rev. Monte Cyr
We would all agree that our families are important. Even in today’s world where young people see and hear so much from so many who are trying to influence what they wear, what they do, what they listen to, and what they believe, studies have repeatedly shown that the number one influence in the lives of youth people is their family. God’s intention is that it is to be primarily under the influence of the family that young people’s values are formed, faith is nurtured, priorities are set, unconditional love is received and given, identities are “tried out” and life is practiced, personalities are molded, and life models are watched and imitated. The family is to be the place and the people who help the young ones grow and mature into Christ-like disciples, ready to take their place of leadership in the church and the world.
Of course, as you’ve been reading this and agreeing with what the family is supposed to do, your mind has been filling with the images of the many young people whose families are not what they need to grow up healthy and happy and ready for life. You think of the young person whose father skipped out long ago, and his mother goes from one live-in boyfriend to another. You think of the young lady who has been so emotionally, and maybe even sexually, abused by her parents that she is willing to do about anything just to feel loved and accepted. You think about the young man who ditches classes and spends his time drinking and taking drugs, trying to drown out the feelings of rejection he gets at home. You see face after face of young people who want nothing to do with the church because their experiences in their families are of either loveless legalism or hypocrisy. You think of the many young people who only hear the name of Jesus from their parents as a curse word. This obviously isn’t what God’s plan for the family, and the family’s influence, is supposed to be.
