Supporting Families in Faith
Growing with God in Family Ministries
More Marriage Ministry:
This year was a busy one for the Marriage and Pre-Marriage portion of Family Ministries.
One of our biggest events was the Marriage Enrichment Weekend. We are grateful to have a volunteer team of married couples that present for this retreat on various topics, God's biblical principles, and their real-life experiences. This weekend is a ‘work’ weekend where couples do significant work to improve their relationship. And to support them, the couples who choose to attend are encouraged through prayer before, during, and after the event. I, personally, heard great reports from some of the couples that attended. The word I heard most often was ‘inspiring’. And to top it off, the beautiful new location this year, The Crossing at Ghost River, got great reviews from our couples.
The Alpha Marriage Course was offered in February/March 2020 in the CrossRoads Chapel. This Course is for couples who are married and seeking to strengthen their relationship. Some participate in the course to invest in their relationship and others need more urgent help. Either way, this course aims to offer a lifetime of practical ideas and tools to equip couples in keeping their relationship strong. It was cut short by the COVID restrictions but we are grateful that couples were able to finish their final sessions at home using a video curriculum.
The Alpha Pre-Marriage Course and the Prepare/Enrich curriculum were delivered to many new couples by our amazing team of marriage mentors. Unfortunately the Engaged Encounter Weekend at Camp Silversides was cancelled due to low registrations and COVID concerns.
We can’t say enough about the hard work and dedication of those who have championed the cause of providing teaching and mentorship to help build great marriages. Our church and our community is greatly impacted because Godly men and women take seriously the call to disciple others in the faith. We are honoured that so many of you took advantage of these resources and took part in the many options to strengthen and inspire your marriages.
Expanded Evening Service:
With the addition of Soup & the 6, we saw a lot of growth in our evening service. Kids were able to join other families in sharing a meal together, play in the gym, join the adults for worship, and then join their leaders for a time of learning and sharing. This was very popular with our kids and their families. Numbers quickly swelled as did the fun! This is obviously on pause during COVID but we look forward to continuing evening service in this way when it is safe to do so.
Fabulous Focus:
2019-2020 has been a year of listening to the Lord together. Our Children’s Ministry and Student ministry recognized the need and took significant time away to listen to the Lord and then each other. They were able to prioritize what matters most to us in the area of children, youth, and families; these values form our directives for planning and executing current and future ministry. Our teams have been working hard this year to find greater alignment which has led to greater fruit.
It matters to us that staff, volunteers, students, and kids are all growing in a personal relationship with Jesus. It also matters to us that we figure out how to reach large numbers of kids, youth, and families. There can sometimes be a tension between quantity and quality of ministry but we don’t believe there has to be a compromise between the two. With good strategic planning and a tenacious grip on the things we care about, we believe we can achieve both. This focusing has been helping us see more change in more lives!
STUDENT MINISTRY JOINT VALUES AND BEST PRACTICES
- We Care that Our Students Fit
They know what we have a place for them. We are a fit for them. They can picture themselves being a part of what we do. Our place is welcoming. - We Care that Our Students Grow
We Invite Faith: Test out what you believe with actions. Teaching Truth: We use scripture to point us to what is ultimately good. Providing Next Steps: We take actions as a community; we work on it together. We need all 4: We need youth who are; Not Interested - Seeking - Believing - Producing Fruit - We Care that Our Students Feel Known
God walks with you personally; we want to guide you in what that looks like for you. God created you with unique purpose, so you are not generic to us. We care to love deeply. We show you grace so that you can be genuine. - We Care About our Students’ Parents
We think like a parent We honor parents We empower, encourage, and believe that parents are significant in the faith journey of a student.
Community-Building Camping Extravaganza:
Every year we have amazing volunteer families that lead our camping trip in the mountains! We go to Kootenay Plains for a weekend of campfires, testimonies, food, talent show, rock climbing, hiking, splashing, and other family activities. This weekend is always highly anticipated. This year, we had a nice mix of return campers and new people which provided a great opportunity for CrossRoads families to get to know each other. This year’s trip was extra special - two of our campers were baptized at the bottom of a small waterfall near the campsite. We had a great time celebrating these young people and their decision to be obedient to Jesus in following Him!
Barry Oram, Pastor of Family Ministries
NEXT > See what's happening in Early Childhood Ministries
