Jointly organised by Family Ministries Malaysia and NECF Family Commission, Ron Hunter, co-founder of the D6 movement shared about establishing family ministry in church, at Full Gospel Assembly Kuala Lumpur (FGAKL) in Jalan Kuchai Lama.
“God’s heartbeat had always been on family ministry,” said Ron Hunter, adding that D6 stands for Deuteronomy chapter six, which is the foundation of the movement.
Discipleship of generations should happen in a the family
Parents play an indispensable and powerful role in discipling their children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). But for a long time, this role of has been given to the church.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eye. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
To meet this increasing demand of parents expecting the church to disciple their children, the church has built independent and successful ministries, but unfortunately ‘silo’ ones.
For example, sometimes youth pastors do such a great job that their ministries become a separate ministry by itself from the adult church. As a result, youths often find it hard to integrate back into their adult church upon entering adulthood.
But all ministries should operate as one entity in the church and not apart from one another, with the one goal of growing individual families there.
Strong families build a strong church.
The church should equip mums and dads as primary disciplers of their children
In other words, all ministries in the church should work together to involve mums and dads as the primary disciplers of their children, from childhood to adulthood.
The church should not make the parents look less ‘cool’ or less able to teach their children. But they should strengthen the parents’ place, mandate and position to take on spiritual leadership and discipleship over their children at home.
For example, all ministries can study the same subject matter – from Sunday school to connect group fellowship – so that conversations of the Bible can be facilitated and made across generations, at home.
Another example would be having ministers of children and youths offer ideas or topics to teach and talk to their children at home.
Setting parents up to disciple their children is a very viable and natural option.
Why? A study shows that a person in church only gets one hour of discipleship out of 168 hours in a week.
But when a parent disciples a child at home, a child gets discipled more, simply because he or she spends more time at home with mum or dad. This can happen either directly through oral teaching or indirectly through observation.
“Not everything we say to our children has to relate to Scripture. But we just need to walk alongside them – the high and low points – and look for teachable points.
“Sometimes, our children just need a listening ear and a parent who understands. They will not listen unless you listen to their heart.”
How do we treat people without families in church?
In implementing D6 in churches, questions will arise on whether the church has ignored people – whether children, youths or adults – who have no family in church.
Hence, in solving this, families should be the centre of discipling not only their own children, but also others without a family in church.
Discipleship within a godly family is very powerful, as one sees the gospel at work in a family. This unsaid interaction between a husband, a wife, and their children would leave a stronger and indelible mark and impression on a person.
Again, strong families build a strong church. This is God’s blueprint. And if we follow it, it will certainly bear fruits.
For church leaders
8 steps to establish family ministry in our church
Firstly, we need to establish a sense of urgency in the church. It is God’s command for parents to teach their children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
Secondly, involve as many leaders as possible, especially the lead pastor.
Some lead pastors may feel inadequate to lead, due to their family situations.
But the healthiest thing for a lead pastor to do is to leave the guilt behind, own the past, educate oneself about family ministry, ask for forgiveness from family and congregation, and not pretend to be an expert in this area. The congregation only need their lead pastor to walk with them through their family journey, side by side.
Thirdly, read all the passages in the Bible on generational discipleship.
Fourth, formulate family strategies at the church leadership level. For example, staff meetings in church can be a place to talk about family matters.
Fifth, formulate family strategies at the family level. This helps to set parents for success with their children.
Sixth, the lead pastor needs to take the lead in this family ministry.
Seventh, let the church practice the culture of setting parents to win.
Eighth, do not let new staffs chase a new or better program. The application can change but the foundation must remain, as it is a biblical foundation. It typically takes a church three to seven years to accomplish this movement.
Conclusion
The D6 movement lies in the very heart of God. Since the times of Adam and Eve, He intended that humankind multiplies from the basic unit of a family. God sees Himself as our Abba Father (Romans 8:15), and the church as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25).
Like bricks of a building, strong families make a strong church, set on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ.
Church leaders, therefore, play a pivotal and indispensable role to champion this cause and see it to establishment and continuation to the next generation. And this is the best legacy we can leave, as a Church, for our children.
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