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We moved our family to the East Mountains two and a half years ago. After living on the west side of Albuquerque for our entire married life, moving here meant coming back home for me. Raising our 2 boys, Caleb 10 and Joshua 7, where I grew up is such a blessing. David and I thank the Lord daily for the blessing of living on the mountain!

I am currently an art teacher in APS. In addition, having worked in public schools for nine years and taught Christian preschool for four years, I have an insider’s view to the public school system, students in public school and the unique challenges and opportunities available there.

Deciding on public school for the boy’s education was not an easy choice for our family. You see, I have seen the good and bad of public school. But, I am continually reminded that we are called to be light and salt in the world. In Mathew 5:13-16 we are told,

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

We’ve found, as a family, that the best way for our us to do that is through our children and I being in the public school system.

As we walk side by side with believers and non-believers, learn to serve and love everyone, even if they don’t share our beliefs, and are challenged by different viewpoints; we dig deep in our faith and lean on God for understanding. We encourage our boys to come to us with their questions and struggles. Through the boy’s school experience we have come to understand that there really isn't a perfect solution to schooling, a reminder that we live in an imperfect and fallen world.

However, we have hope in the fact that the Lord proves Himself perfect through the imperfect.  

So as we prepare for another school year, we pray for our children's teachers and classmates. Our children are learning how to be a light in their community and with their peers. The boys learn to talk to and pray for kids that they interact with at school. David and I intentionally raise our children in the Lord by praying with them daily, discussing life's events through a biblical perspective and doing family Bible studies. Our prayer is that they will have the faith and tools to effectively minister to their generation as they grow in Christ.

Whether home school, private school or public school, as Christ's followers we are in this together. So how are you preparing for children for school this year?

My husband Nathan and I recently returned to the area after a three year stint living in the Front Range of Colorado. We homeschool our three children ages 8, 6 and 2. Nathan has attended Mountain Christian church since he was 4 or 5 years old and I joined him not long after we married 13 years ago.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received about being a mother was:

"The best way to love your children, is to love their father."

And the best piece of advice I have for you today is this:

"The best way to DISCIPLE your children is to love their HEAVENLY father." 

Have you ever noticed how much your children are like you? How they do the things you do and say the things you say?  

Irritating, isn't it?

I mean it can be irritating when you notice your bad character traits coming out in them. It's frustrating and humbling. 

However, when they imitate you praising the Lord, or praying aloud to Him, or loving His word, or sharing their faith with others? There's nothing like it.

I am a lover of books so mostly what this looks like in our home is reading THE BOOK together, studying and discussing it. Our history curriculum makes this easy. We are currently working through 2 Kings together and started in Genesis back when my oldest was in Kindergarten.

If you want to give your kids a Biblical world view and disciple them, you have to start with the Bible. Build not only your day around it, build your life around it.

We read and enjoy other great books too. I love Lamplighter books particularly, but there are plenty of great books around. We recently finished Farmer Boy, from the Laura Ingalls Wilder series and sharing that experience led to so many teachable moments.

You see, in order to disciple someone, you have to spend time with them. Jesus did. He ate with His disciples and slept with them, travelled with them, fished with them and talked with them.

We also involve our kids in serving others because Jesus didn't stop with spending time with His disciples. He also healed others and fed others and taught others and loved others and prayed for others with them.

Love Jesus, spend time with Him and spend time with your kids. Introduce them to each other. Be what you want your kids to be. And pray a lot.

And when you fail, because you will fail, because you are human, be like Jesus and offer yourself lots of grace. Apologize to your kids, let them see that you don't have all the answers, but that you know the one Who does. Because that's discipling too.

In Europe, there are great cathedrals that once housed thousands of fervent Christ-worshippers every week. Some were even the sites of revivals and mighty works of God just a century or two ago.  Now, many are closed. One, in the Netherlands, is even used as a skate park.

Some have said that Christianity is always one generation away from extinction. These empty cathedrals are a stark reminder of that.

So, every generation of believers must take up the task of passing on their faith to the next generation, because no one is born a Christian. One of the ways that we do this is to train our children in knowing the Lord. We are charged to guide them in how to be His disciples.  

Scripture tells us to disciple our children throughout our days, not just by taking them to church once a week (Dt. 6:1-9). It also tells us that parents have a distinct and God-given role in nurturing faith in their children (Eph. 6:4, Col. 3:21, Ps. 78:4).

Now who doesn't hear this, and immediately feel the weight of it?!  None of us is perfect; and all of us could certainly learn in this area!

Here at MCC, we'd like to take this opportunity to share some encouragement and some ideas with one another.  Over the next few days, we will be posting blogs from several different families - each in different places in life - that discuss how they help encourage their children to be disciples of Christ.  

We're in this together. We want every family to be faithful in making disciples. Be assured that even through our shortcomings and our imperfect efforts, the Lord is glorified.

May you be encouraged, challenged, and helped, brothers and sisters.  I know that I will be!

With you for passing on the life-changing gospel in every home,

Pastor Frank

Andy, Levi, and Ajay have attended Mountain Christian Church with their parents for their entire lives (9 years, 6 years, and 5 years, respectively) and have been to about as many Vacation Bible School’s as there are candles on their birthday cakes! Here are their candid views about this year’s VBS.

Q: Guys, what was your favorite part of VBS this year?

Ajay (5): “I LOVED the singing.  It was really cool that all the kids and adults were worshiping God together.  And I liked the hand motions and dancing.”

Levi(6): “Face painting and games.” (Levi is a man of few words)

Andy(9): “I liked the market, because we actually got to use the economy.  I liked how everyone working in the market found a way to ask us about the future.  I also liked how you could see Brutus (the Roman centurion guarding Paul) changing, and reflect his change back on yourself.  Some people looked like they were not really interested or didn’t think it was cool, but I think they learned.  They’re still able to see the truth in themselves, that they need Jesus and that He changes them.  They might not say it out loud, but they know it in their hearts. I also liked the decorations. “ (Andy is a man of MANY words)

Q: What was one thing you learned this week at VBS?

Ajay: “God’s love sticks with us.  A lot of people don’t know that, so we have to teach them.”

Levi: “God’s love is a gift worth sharing.  I believe, and some people don’t.  So maybe they’ll believe if I talk to them.”

Andy: “Things were really hard for Christians in Rome when Paul lived. Paul was chained to his guard when he was under house arrest.  Paul was in Rome, but he wrote to the church, to believers, everywhere.  Paul was very talkative about Christ.  It seems like he would talk about Him any opportunity he got.”

Q: Would you recommend VBS to your friends?

Ajay: “Yes.  God is there and it’s really fun and it’s honoring and praising Him.”

Levi: “Yes, because God loves them and doesn’t want them to miss it!”

Andy: “Well…it depends on who I’m talking to.”

….Uh….What do you mean?

Andy: “Well, if they would be reckless, then I would first suggest a private school that would help them understand who God is and how they should act.”

…..Hmmm….er….uh….Well Andy, don’t you think that even a kid who has a hard time behaving well should be able to come and have fun praising and learning about God?  Don’t you think they need Him just as much as we do?  What if, because we are willing to extend grace to them, they become more willing to listen to the gospel that saves them?

Andy: “Well….I see your point (this was a small miracle, and I’m glad it’s recorded).  They should be with a group leader that can handle them and extend grace like you say.  That’s kind of hard.  But they do need to hear about Jesus.  And I think when they do, it starts to sink in, little by little.  I think kids who are having trouble believing in Jesus should come too.  VBS helps you understand more about who God is, make new friends, and maybe your family even learns more about Christ.”

VBS presented a lot of opportunities for us to encounter our sin and our Savior last week!  My kids were ministered to and challenged in so many ways.  It is easy, as a volunteer, to wonder if all we’ve done is exhaust ourselves and entertain the kids.  However, you can see how the truth came to bear on each one of my boys, often in different ways, last week.  While the kids may seem as though they’re just showing up for the fun and tolerating the teaching, the Holy Spirit uses our efforts to highlight our need for Jesus and His sufficiency to save us. 

Last week, the kids saw themselves in the lost centurion. They saw the joy in Paul and marveled at his transformation. They tasted the sweetness of worshiping with believers. They spoke as witnesses of Jesus to the Roman messenger, and were challenged to extend compassion to the senator.  They ran from soldiers as they headed toward the underground church, and found the fellowship and encouragement of fellow believers to be strengthening and life-giving. They were challenged to extend grace to one another. They talked with each other about how God’s love is a gift that changes us, never leaves us, and is worth sharing.

Each volunteer, each activity, every hour of work, was used by God for His eternal purposes in the hearts of precious children. I know of no other investment that returns such exponential gains.

If your kids attended VBS, ask them these questions!  If not, please consider joining us next year!

You know, VBS is complicated.

VBS takes months of planning, weeks of preparation, and days of setting up.  There are countless details to manage, donations to organize, songs to choreograph and memorize, costumes for each volunteer to sew, and multiple areas of the church to decorate.  Yet, year after year God provides for VBS in ways big and small. Somehow, we always have the right number of volunteers with just the right skills.

And God always brings the children!  From our church, other churches, and around the community, families bring their children to hear the word of God and have a load of fun!  When I heard that we had 146 kids registered this year, I confess that I feared it could be too crowded and too chaotic.  How in the world could we manage such a large number? My heart was convinced that God could pull it off, but my head wondered about the logistics of it all. There I was down in the details and God already had it all worked out!

“Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.” – Psalm 72:18

Surrounded by precious children who are eager to listen to God’s word, bold in their singing and dancing, and fascinated by the Roman experience, I was swept away by their innocent need for love. To view the VBS experience from their eyes, when everything is fun and amazing!

The kids didn’t need perfectly organized activities that always went according to plan. They didn’t need perfectly hemmed costumes and the most elaborate decorations; they needed friends to laugh with, scripture-packed songs to sing, and VBS volunteers to shower them with a love that reflects God’s love made perfect by Jesus’ sacrifice. God already knew what they would need, he knew what I would need, and throughout this week he provided for all those needs and more!

You know, maybe VBS is simple after all.