Tag: preteen ministry

{Product Review}: FamilyLife’s Passport2Purity Getaway Kit

Kathie Phillips
I was so excited to take a look at FamilyLife’s Passport2Purity Getaway Kit.  While I no longer have preteens living at my house, I do work with preteens at church and am always on the lookout for resources for them, their parents and their leaders.
Your child begins the journey into adolescence in a world of sexting, bullying, online stalking and moral defiance.  Innocence is under attack, and you cannot win the battle with a single awkward talk or a strict set of rules.  The primary defense for your child is a strong relationship with you and with God.  FamilyLife developed Passport2Purity (P2P) to assist you in building heart-to-heart communication with your preteen while laying a foundation of purity that will prepare him or her for the turbulent years ahead.  Through the shared listening experience, object lessons and guided conversations of a P2P weekend getaway, you can set your son or daughter on a journey of moral integrity – and strengthen the bond between you.
It is designed to be used by a mother and daughter or a father and son when the child is a preteen.  It is suggested that the materials be completed over a weekend away from home, as the child may be more open to discussing the topics away from his or her normal environment.  If this isn’t possible, the material can be completed over a period of four or five weeks.
About the getaway kit:
(1) Tour Guide for the parent, (1) Travel Journal for the preteen including 25 follow-up devotions, and (8) CDs containing 5 sessions, scripture memory songs and downloadable MP3s:  Session 1: Beginning the Journey – Challenges, Traps, and Choices; Session 2: Running With The Herd – Friendships and Peer Pressure; Session 3: Ready For An Upgrade? – Changes in Him, Changes in Her; Session 4: Destination: Lé Pure – Setting Boundaries; Session 5: Crossing The Date Line – Seeing Dating Differently
Receive 25% off the getaway kit by using the promo code PASSPORT on their website.  
This promo code is good through 8/31/15.  
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S O C I A L • C O R N E R
 
 
 
Twitter: @FamilyLifeToday @DennisRainey @BarbaraRainey 
 
 

{Throwback Thursday}:”10 Great Dates: Connecting Faith, Love & Marriage”

Kathie Phillips

This post originally posted on February 14, 2014.

Well, today is Valentine’s Day, a day when love is shared, boxed chocolates are enjoyed and roses are ridiculously over-priced.  Don’t get me wrong – when my husband & I were dating, I wanted all of the ‘outward’ expressions of love.  Now that we’ve been married for 18 years, I appreciate love more throughout the year than just focused on the day you’re supposed to show it.

One way I appreciate the love my husband and I share is through our date nights.  Over the years, our date nights have evolved.  As newlyweds, Friday nights and all-day Saturday were our date days.  When children came along, our date days became “meet you on the couch after we put the children to bed”.  As the children got older and our calendars became more jam-packed, carving out time together would include breakfasts, lunches, dinners, coffee or weekends away.  We just wanted to be together, to talk, to look into each other’s eyes as well as each other’s hearts and listen to each other.  In my book, date nights (or days) are non-negotiable.

Last fall, I received a copy of 10 Great Dates: Connecting Faith, Love & Marriage by Peter & Heather Larson and David & Claudia Arp.  I thought I’d wait until Valentine’s Day to share my thoughts about it.  The book was released in September 2013 by Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

About the Book

The book’s purpose is to “help you connect faith, love and marriage in ways that result in a deeper spiritual connection.”  The book offers 10 great date night options, each with its own chapter within the book, outlining pre-date preparation, date night tips, and post-date spiritual application.

The date night options are:

  1. Connecting Faith and Love – You’ll talk about how connecting faith in your marriage can help you build a more loving, growing relationship.
  2. Appreciating Your Differences – You’ll talk about two key core values: acceptance & forgiveness.
  3. Experiencing God Together – You’ll talk about factors that bring you together spiritually as you worship God together.
  4. Getting Into the Word – You’ll be given simple tools to help you grow spiritually through studying the Bible together.
  5. Loving Your Closest Neighbor – You’ll talk about how to love and encourage your spouse.
  6. Talking Together With God – You’ll talk about how to overcome some of the obstacles to praying as a couple and practical ways to develop a meaningful prayer life together.
  7. Building Your Marriage on a Strong Foundation – You’ll talk about the importance of what the Bible calls leaving, cleaving and becoming one.
  8. Facing the Storms of Life Together – This date will help you talk about how to stay close and face the storms of life together.
  9. Guarding Your Heart Under God’s Canopy – You’ll look at what it means to have God’s sacred canopy over your marriage and how to guard your heart.
  10. Making Your Marriage a Lighthouse – You’ll be encouraged to talk about how you can continue to draw close spiritually and how your marriage can be a lighthouse to those around you.

What I Liked

If you notice what each date encourages, you’ll discover what I love about this book. It gets spouses talking to one another.  These dates make talking to each other a priority, and I love that.  And not just talking to fill time – but meaningful discussions. That’s a winner to me!

I also love that the book takes the guesswork out of what to talk about.  It’s so easy to talk about work, children, family and friends but being intentional and having guided spiritual conversations that will benefit your marriage is another winner for me.

What I Think Was Missing

I’m a pretty practical person, so I was expecting more practical ideas.  Maybe something like, “Over coffee, talk about…”  I wasn’t expecting that there would be ‘homework’ before and after the date.  This aspect might be a turn-off to some readers and might result in one of the spouses doing more prep-work than the other.

Also, my husband isn’t a big reader, so I’m not sure how practical that would be.  I would see myself as the primary date conversation facilitator, which would be extra work on my part.

My Recommendation

Overall, I think the book is a great read for marriage rookies and veterans alike.  If you’re looking to make your date night conversation more meaningful, then grab a copy of this book today!  Visit their website for more information.

Have you read 10 Great Dates: Connecting Faith, Love & Marriage?  What were your thoughts?

Bethany House provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  No compensation was received.

{Book Review} “10 Great Dates: Connecting Faith, Love & Marriage”

Kathie Phillips

Well, today is Valentine’s Day, a day when love is shared, boxed chocolates are enjoyed and roses are ridiculously over-priced.  Don’t get me wrong – when my husband & I were dating, I wanted all of the ‘outward’ expressions of love.  Now that we’ve been married for 18 years, I appreciate love more throughout the year than just focused on the day you’re supposed to show it.

One way I appreciate the love my husband and I share is through our date nights.  Over the years, our date nights have evolved.  As newlyweds, Friday nights and all-day Saturday were our date days.  When children came along, our date days became “meet you on the couch after we put the children to bed”.  As the children got older and our calendars became more jam-packed, carving out time together would include breakfasts, lunches, dinners, coffee or weekends away.  We just wanted to be together, to talk, to look into each other’s eyes as well as each other’s hearts and listen to each other.  In my book, date nights (or days) are non-negotiable.

Last fall, I received a copy of 10 Great Dates: Connecting Faith, Love & Marriage by Peter & Heather Larson and David & Claudia Arp.  I thought I’d wait until Valentine’s Day to share my thoughts about it.  The book was released in September 2013 by Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

About the Book

The book’s purpose is to “help you connect faith, love and marriage in ways that result in a deeper spiritual connection.”  The book offers 10 great date night options, each with its own chapter within the book, outlining pre-date preparation, date night tips, and post-date spiritual application.

The date night options are:

  1. Connecting Faith and Love – You’ll talk about how connecting faith in your marriage can help you build a more loving, growing relationship.
  2. Appreciating Your Differences – You’ll talk about two key core values: acceptance & forgiveness.
  3. Experiencing God Together – You’ll talk about factors that bring you together spiritually as you worship God together.
  4. Getting Into the Word – You’ll be given simple tools to help you grow spiritually through studying the Bible together.
  5. Loving Your Closest Neighbor – You’ll talk about how to love and encourage your spouse.
  6. Talking Together With God – You’ll talk about how to overcome some of the obstacles to praying as a couple and practical ways to develop a meaningful prayer life together.
  7. Building Your Marriage on a Strong Foundation – You’ll talk about the importance of what the Bible calls leaving, cleaving and becoming one.
  8. Facing the Storms of Life Together – This date will help you talk about how to stay close and face the storms of life together.
  9. Guarding Your Heart Under God’s Canopy – You’ll look at what it means to have God’s sacred canopy over your marriage and how to guard your heart.
  10. Making Your Marriage a Lighthouse – You’ll be encouraged to talk about how you can continue to draw close spiritually and how your marriage can be a lighthouse to those around you.

What I Liked

If you notice what each date encourages, you’ll discover what I love about this book. It gets spouses talking to one another.  These dates make talking to each other a priority, and I love that.  And not just talking to fill time – but meaningful discussions. That’s a winner to me!

I also love that the book takes the guesswork out of what to talk about.  It’s so easy to talk about work, children, family and friends but being intentional and having guided spiritual conversations that will benefit your marriage is another winner for me.

What I Think Was Missing

I’m a pretty practical person, so I was expecting more practical ideas.  Maybe something like, “Over coffee, talk about…”  I wasn’t expecting that there would be ‘homework’ before and after the date.  This aspect might be a turn-off to some readers and might result in one of the spouses doing more prep-work than the other.

Also, my husband isn’t a big reader, so I’m not sure how practical that would be.  I would see myself as the primary date conversation facilitator, which would be extra work on my part.

My Recommendation

Overall, I think the book is a great read for marriage rookies and veterans alike.  If you’re looking to make your date night conversation more meaningful, then grab a copy of this book today!  Visit their website for more information.

Have you read 10 Great Dates: Connecting Faith, Love & Marriage?  What were your thoughts?

Bethany House provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  No compensation was received.

Preteen Curriculum: Why We Chose “Preteenministry.net”

Kathie Phillips

This post is Part 4 of Ministry Basics: Selecting Curriculum.  

You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

Our Preteen Ministry, Route 45, is very special to me.  We launched it from the ground up in Sept 2012 and designed it to be a safe place where 4th & 5th Graders can ask hard questions and begin to own their faith.

What we use, the selection process and why this was our choice

Our team selected curriculum from preteenministry.net.  I blogged about our selection process here.

How the curriculum looks at our church

This is what our current format looks like:

  • Arrival Activities (20 minutes):  After checking themselves in, preteens are able to hang out until our Large Group worship begins.  (They are able to enjoy basketball, air hockey and board games.)
  • Large Group Worship (15 minutes):  Our preteens worship with our 1st-3rd Graders.
  • Large Group Teaching (20 minutes):  After worship, our preteens head back to their area for a teaching time.  Sometimes our teaching time includes a game or object lesson that relates to the Bible story.
  • Small Groups (30 minutes):  During this time, preteens split up into 2 groups: 4th & 5th Grade Girls and 4th & 5th Grade Boys.  Each group has one adult or high school leader who facilitates discussion, application activities and prayer.

What I like

  • The selection of available lesson series is great.
  • The artwork is great, too.  (I use each series’ banner picture as our Facebook page cover photo.)
  • The lessons are engaging and do not look the same each week.  Some weeks, there might be a video clip; some weeks the preteens act out the story.  Other weeks, there might be an object lesson or group art project.
  • The games are fun and tailored specifically to preteens.
  • We hardly ever have to supplement the material.
  • There is flexibility to choose our own lesson schedule, which allows us to customize for our needs.
  • The cost is very affordable, as each series is digital.

What I don’t like

  • I’d like to see take-home resources provided for each lesson.
  • It would also be great to have scripts for social media (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) that accompany each lesson/series.  Right now, I write my own.

Preteenministry.net is a great resource for ministry leaders.  In addition to curriculum for elementary, preteen and junior high ministry, it also provides training materials, games, and other great stuff.  Check it out!  You can click the image above for a direct link to website.

Do you use preteenministry.net for your preteen ministry? What has your experience been?

If you don’t use preteenministry.net, what do you use?  How’s it working for you?