Future Women Conference

On November 4th & 5th, we will be hosting the Future Women Conference. We will be providing a language, theology, and practical application for what it looks like to raise the next generation of women. This conference is for anyone who is involved in some capacity with raising girls to learn what it means to reflect God in His image as a women, through the core capacities of nurturing, partnering, and inviting. We encourage all parents, grandparents, teachers, and leaders of girls and young ladies to attend this event.

Register for this event on our Future Women page.

Special Needs Equipping Follow Up

We we excited to have 35 people (including Staff, Volunteer Coaches, and Welcome Team members) attend our Special Needs Equipping Event earlier this month.  After an initial welcome, we had about 45 minutes of a highly-informative program, including:

• Emily McGowan and Jessica Crumpton (our Special Needs coaches on the Pelham Road and Powdersville campuses, respectively) explained the general process of how a child with special needs gets ministered to during our weekend programming.  Most importantly for this audience, we wanted to give an overview of how we try to reach out to families who have children with special needs.  In these cases, we expect our volunteers to go the extra mile, as a way to love on these families.

• Jimmy & Susan Bates, and Joey & Charley Altom, two families that have children with special needs, shared their perspectives as parents.  In both cases, these families have been ministered to by other folks at Grace Church, and this not only encourages them, but has freed them up to minister to others (II Corinthians 1:3-5).  

The volunteers in attendance asked some good questions, especially of the Bates and Altoms, leading to further discussion and explanation.  For example, the parents said that it's OK for a church to tell a parent in this situation, "I don't know the answer, but we'd love to work with you to find a solution, if you'll help us."  Also, they were asked by a volunteer, "Do you want to know when your child misbehaves, or do you just need a break from that?"  All the parents were emphatic that they DO want to know about the behavior of their children, so that they can better shepherd them. 

We look forward to more events like this, perhaps from a different perspective or for a different audience, as we continue to seek ways to assist families in leading their children, and to equip volunteers to shepherd children. 

Take some time to check out our special needs page on our website, and watch this video about the Altoms' story when they started attending Grace Church over two years ago.

PS -- Special thanks to Amy Fenton Lee, author of The Inclusive Church, who made the 2 hour trip up to Greenville to check out this event.

Elementary Camp 2011

In our Camp Grace (1st - 4th grade) programming, we showed a video with the highlights from this year's camp experience (see this post for some other highlights, and read thoughts from Nicky Darling and Joey Espinosa).   Check it out:

2010 3rd and 4th Grade Camp Recap Video from Grace Church on Vimeo.

Now, it's time to start getting ready for next year's camp experience.  If you have a current 3rd or 4th grade, be sure to reserve June 24 - 26 for them.  They won't want to miss out on the fun, food, and fellowship, as well as a great opportunity for us to expand on our normal weekend programming -- with singing, skits, and solid teaching.

Also, you can read our answers to common questions that parents asked us before this year's camp.

You Be Bowlin'?

Has anyone in your family ever had this haircut?  "From my head to my neck / my greatness is affirmed."  (And did they say that Aaron Keyes has a "Euro Mullet"?  Awesome.)

Dancing Dog

Purely for entertainment value.  Let us know what your kids think of this:

Do You Love Your Spouse?

We have already discussed and recommended Paul Tripp's latest book on marriage, What Did You Expect?, on this blog (see here).  This book would be a great resource if you are considering marriage, and even more so at any point during one's marriage.

From The Gospel Coalition, here is another article giving excerpts from chapter 12 of this book.  The point of this chapter is to show that we are not capable by our own efforts of truly loving our spouse as God would have us.  The impossibility of this task should drive us to the Gospel, as we are weak and needy.  Jesus died not only to make us righteous despite our failure to love, "but also so that we would have the desire, wisdom, and power to love as we should."

Additionally, there are some videos on that blog of Tedd Tripp talking about some of the principles in this book.  Here is one where Tripp says, "I'm proposing that marriage is war." 




Here is another video, from a more personal perspective from the author.  ("The character of a marriage is not built in three big moments; it's built in ten-thousand little moments.")




After reading the article, we encourage you to get a copy of What Did You Expect?

Elementary Camp Pictures & Videos

We have a bunch of pictures from our Elementary Camp on our Facebook page. You'll see just as sample of the great time that we had! Tag anyone you know, and share the memories. (And if you're not a FB fan of Grace Children's Ministry, go ahead and sign up, so we can keep you posted on the many things going on in our ministry.)  For a summary of the 2010 Elementary Camp, see our website. 

Here are some video clips of some of the fun times, including . . .

Bobble Heads Competition

The Big Swing

The Zip Line

Singing and moving to "Everlasting Love"

Grecian Fountains (a Camp tradition)

Serving In Children's Ministry

Nick, Nate, and Gabrielle Mylander have been serving in Children's Ministry, with Elementary, Preschool, and Nursery programming, respectively.  Their parents have told us that these students have turned down opportunities to be with friends if it meant that they would miss serving on Sunday mornings.  Watch the video below to hear their story (or see it on our Grace YouTube channel).




We expect to need around 750 regular volunteers in Children's Ministry, starting with Promotion Weekend (August 14 & 15), for all 3 campuses and 6 services.  If you want to join our team and be used by God for a Kingdom-level impact, email us at children@gracechurchsc.org.  Additionally, if you have a child or student who wants to serve in Children's Ministry, take a moment to fill out this form.

Dad Life

Hilarious video from Church on the Move, in Tulsa, OK.  Enjoy!

If the video doesn't load, try this.

Is Your Son a Bully?

Here's another video of Bill White answering a question submitted at our Future Men event.  He explains that bullying is not leading; it is actually a form of passivity, which is the core struggle for all men.  We need to teach boys that "there is a greater reward . . . by engaging in a loving matter," not by being either passive or controlling. 

Watch the full video here, and see the other related videos here.

Giving Your Life Away

Grace Church member Dave Allston shares his thoughts on serving in a Preschool Small Group (you can also watch the video on the Grace YouTube channel):

Jesus talks about children differently than He talks about any other group of people. . . .  I think [teaching children about Jesus] is one of the most important things you can do. . . .  It's an easy thing to do, but it's a great opportunity, and a great way to learn to how to share who Jesus is with people. . . .

Children are very important to Jesus, and so they should be important to us. . . .  One of the best ways to give your life away is to minister to children.

We have a number of immediate needs for Children's Small Group Leaders, for all age groups:

• Nursery (infants through toddlers):  providing security and love
• Preschool (2's - 5k):  teaching basic concepts of who God is
• Camp Grace (1st - 4th grades):  teaching heart-level Biblical principles through main characters of the Bible
• Quest (4k - 4th grade):  a special program on Sunday mornings for children who stay for 2 services; read more about Quest here.

If you want to partner with us in ministering to children during our weekend programming, we would love to have you on the team.  Let us know which age group(s) and service you'd like to serve in, by emailing us at children@gracechurchsc.org.

Swagger Wagon

Just plain funny.

Theology Matters

I've said before that I am not an expert on theology, at least not at the same level as many of the other pastors on staff. The following video shows why it is crucial to grow in your knowledge about God. (If the video is not working, you can view it here or here.)

Here are some of my favorite lines from this video:

"What we know about God shapes the way we think and live."

"You can study [God] the way you study a sunset that you leaves you speechless."

"We're all theologians. The question is whether what we know about God is true."

Do you want to grow in your theology, to know more about Him and His ways, so that you can better live a life of discipleship in Christ?  Here are a few books that can help:

1. Dug Down Deep (Joshua Harris). The above video is actually a promotion for this book.
2. Big Truths for Young Hearts (Bruce Ware). We have had a number of excerpts from this book on this blog.  (You can search by the label.) Great for parents of children around ages 5-14. 
3. Knowing God (JI Packer). This is for the serious theologian. Worth reading, but it's so deep that it's easy to get bogged down. It took me a long time to get through it, and I am sure I only got a fraction out of it.
4. Mere Christianity (CS Lewis). I agree with most of his theology, but at the least CS Lewis is a great thinker with sharp logic. I have read this book several times, each time gleaning more and more knowledge.

--  Joey Espinosa

Future Men Videos

For those who missed it, here's a full playlist of videos that were done in response to questions from our Future Men event last October.  Bill White answers the questions, with Scott Mozingo as the moderator. Some of the topics below are linked to previous posts, where a summary is given. The videos cover these principles:

1. Stages of Manhood
2. Developing Son's Leadership
3. Dealing with a Lack of Male Leadership
4. Respect for Authority

Any other questions?  Comment below (it can be anonymous). And make plans to attend our Transitions Parenting Conference on April 16-17.

Elementary Camp Presentation

In our Camp Grace programming this weekend, we again promoted our annual summer camp.  If you have a current 3rd or 4th grader, we hope that he or she can join us.  We had 70 campers last year, and hope that even more are able to enjoy this experience.

See this previous post for more information and to see the video that your child saw.  We'll communicate more over the couple of months (with registration beginning right after Easter), but go ahead and reserve the dates June 18-20.

Here are some things that campers enjoyed about last year's camp:

"Being together with my friends" [we had 85 campers and leaders last year]
"Sleeping over"
"Pranking the boys" and "Pranking the girls"
"Shopping at the canteen"
"Eating smores at the bonfire"
"Coffee!" [don't worry - only decaf is allowed at dinner]
"A lake, a giant swing, a giant slide!"

Future Men Video -- Respect for Authority

Here's another video answer, this time to a question we've received last fall as a part of our Future Men equipping event.  "What's the best way to get a young boy to respect authority in general, and not just his parents?"  You can watch this videoed response from Bill White, and some related videos, on the playlist below.  If you have any other parenting questions, please let us know. 

Dealing with a Lack of Male Leadership?

Bill White addresses this issue to moms who are concerned about a lack of male leadership for their sons.  This can apply for situations where the father is emotionally-disconnected or ill-equipped, or where the father is physically-absent from the home. 

First, he cautions that we need to clearly understand what "spiritual leadership" actually is, which may involve moving away from some common viewpoints of this.  Second, moms in this situation need to not fear the lack of male leadership, but to trust in God. In humility, we need to live in repentant faith in our loving God, and not in proud unbelief.

What does a mom do, if she is parenting alone in the home?

1. She still needs to teach and encourage his son to be a man.
2. She needs to be connected to the local church.  Don't just attend, but be serve and be a contributor. 
3. She needs to respect her husband. 

Watch the video on our YouTube channel.

Downtown Campus

Grace Church will have a new location for its Downtown campus, starting March 7.  You can watch the video below for more information. We will offer Children's Ministry programming for Nursery through Kindergarten (5k).  If you are interested in worshiping and serving at our Downtown campus beginning March 7, and you have children in this age group, please register using this form.  Questions?  Email us at children@gracechurchsc.org.

How Do I Help Develop My Young Son's Leadership Potential?

This question was submitted as part of our Future Men event.  Here is a video of Bill White's answer.  The question is in reference to the parent's 5-year old son.

Leave any comments or questions here.

Future Men - Stages of Manhood

In case you missed our Future Men event on October 30, 2009, we have a video of Bill White giving a summary of the key concepts, on our Grace YouTube channel.  "We want our parents to be thinking . . . that our little boys are future men."

From our Men's Roundtable teaching ("borrowed" from Robert Lewis), here is a Biblical definition of manhood: 

"A real man is one who . . . 

1. Rejects Passivity,
2. Accepts Responsibility, 
3. Leads Courageously, and
4. Expects God's Reward."
   

If this is what a real man looks like, how do we get there?  Bill walks us through the 3 main stages of going from boys to men.

1. Authority.  God's authority needs to be established, as well as the authority He's delegated to parents, teachers, and other leaders.  When an authority tells a child to "do this," he needs to be taught to obey quickly, completely, and happily. 
2. Responsibility.  During this stage, your son needs to to learn to "handle his deal."  They need to be challenged and respected.  
3. Partnership.  By this stage, you are no longer standing over your son, but you are standing alongside him.

You can download the full teaching on our website, either on our Children's Ministry site, or on the Grace Church teaching page (look under Equipping Events). 

What's next?

1. We have some video answers of questions that were asked about raising "future men" that we'll post over the next few weeks.
2. Mark your calendars for April 16-17, for our Transitions Parenting Conference.  It will be a Friday evening, Saturday morning event.  More details to come shortly!