Today my girls and I joined several youth and leaders from our church to go to a homeless shelter downtown. We brought board games, crafts and snacks to play with families and kids. By designing the opportunity to serve we were able to build Christ, Community and Character into our kids.
How?
Christ is built in a young person's life when we pray with her and for her. This afternoon before the families from the shelter came down to the game room, we prayed with our kids asking God to give us His heart for the poor and to know Him in a new way.
Community is built in a young person's life when mature leaders are available to advise, nurture and encourage her. Today, we had three leaders who modeled Christ's love toward others and encouraged the youth by showing them how to include others in games and start conversations.
Character is formed in the life of a youth when we hear teaching about how to respond and interact with people who are weak. Before the residents from the homeless shelter arrived in the game room our youth pastor taught the youth about how Christ interacted with the poor and in turn how we should treat them. She gave examples about appropriate behavior. The teaching gave the kids a good biblical foundation on serving the poor with humility. After the teaching our kids spent the next 2 hours playing games, serving food and talking with kids and families who are going through a very difficult time in their lives.
Tomorrow, I want to look at the four dynamics that transformed our thinking, attitude and behavior.
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