August 19, 2020

When I was in college, I worked one summer doing road construction. As with any new job, the first day can be a little be a little overwhelming. Companies and bosses do as much as possible to help equip, train, and resource new employees. Working road construction was not any different. Before starting the job, I was told that I needed to purchase steel-toed boots to protect my feet and special gloves to protect my hands. The morning I started, I was placed next to a seasoned
employee who consistently made sure that I knew not to put my foot under the jackhammer I was using. Ouch! While the first day on the job was certainly overwhelming, the equipping and resourcing I received on the front end was incredibly helpful!

Parents are familiar with the feeling of being overwhelmed at times. There are life situations to navigate with our children, behavior issues to address, decisions to make, questions to answer, and encouraging to be done. Add to this the limitations and inadequacies we are all familiar with as parents, and discipling our children can seem like a daunting responsibility.

As a church, our desire is to partner with parents in discipling children. This desire flows out of our understanding that God has given parents the primary role in shepherding the hearts of their children. At the same time, that responsibility is not exclusive to parents. The church has a responsibility to pass the Gospel on to the next generation and to encourage Christian parents in the ministry he has given them to their children. This partnership is really the natural outflowing of our doing life in Christ together in church membership.

This brings me to the purpose of this blog. This is the first post in what I hope to be many posts. The purpose of this blog is to help equip and encourage parents in carrying out the ministry God has called them to in their families. Among other things, this blog will highlight great resources for parents and children, as well as offer thoughts on how the Bible speaks to issues pertaining to parenting and the family. Simply put, this blog is an effort to further partner with Cornerstone parents in helping children follow Jesus. The Family Discipleship Blog will be located on Cornerstone’s website under the blog link and updated regularly. I hope you will find it helpful and encouraging.

Chad Holmgren