Welcome to the Joy of Troy Family Ministries Page
The objective of family ministries is to strengthen marriage and the family. The family was established by divine creation with marriage at its center…. Ministry to families in the local church focuses on premarital guidance for couples, marriage strengthening programs, and the education of parents. Ministry to families also gives attention to the special needs of single parents and step-families and provides instruction in family-to-family evangelism. (From the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual)
Introduction of Mission to the the Families in the Cities:
Everyone can see that families in our world are under attack. We are inundated with stories and statistics regarding high divorce rates, domestic violence, rebellious children, pornography, and babies born to unwed parents. New research continues to emphasize an old problem: Homes are falling to pieces. Communities are populated with overwhelmed single parents, angry teens, neglected children, etc. And no culture is untouched by these results of broken families.
The entertainment industry is not helping. Television programs, movies, videos, magazines, and books make it seem normal and almost trendy to loosen our grip on the values that make solid homes. If good families were to be compared to a sapling, Satan and his host of evil angels are chopping at the roots of the family tree in order to topple down forests of marriages.
We know the family is in trouble. But have we stopped to consider the powerful witness of a positive, Christian family? It’s easy to see the dark side, with the broken pieces of deteriorated families all around us. But what can church families do to help struggling homes in our communities to heal and grow? How can we introduce more of our relatives, friends, and neighbors to the Savior who loves families? Is there something we have overlooked in reaching disintegrating homes for God?
Nothing is more powerful to reach floundering families and troubled people than a Christian home. When church families reach out to community families, Satan trembles—because God created families to be the influential building blocks of society. Imperfect as our homes might be, the world looks longingly for safe places for children to grow, for examples of purity and integrity, and for family units that stand against the tide of evil in our world.
The witnessing power of one single Christian family in a neighborhood is beyond estimation. We fear the evil influences of a bad family on a good family, but with proper boundaries it would be well for us to also think about the good influence a Christian home can have on those around us. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, a solid home can change a community.
Notice how Ellen White describes the powerful witness of a Christian home:
“A well-ordered Christian household is a powerful argument in favor of the reality of the Christian religion—an argument that the infidel cannot gainsay. All can see that there is an influence at work in the family that affects the children, and that the God of Abraham is with them. If the homes of professed Christians had a right religious mold, they would exert a mighty influence for good. They would indeed be the ‘light of the world’” (The Adventist Home, p. 36).
Everyone can see that families in our world are under attack. We are inundated with stories and statistics regarding high divorce rates, domestic violence, rebellious children, pornography, and babies born to unwed parents. New research continues to emphasize an old problem: Homes are falling to pieces. Communities are populated with overwhelmed single parents, angry teens, neglected children, etc. And no culture is untouched by these results of broken families.
The entertainment industry is not helping. Television programs, movies, videos, magazines, and books make it seem normal and almost trendy to loosen our grip on the values that make solid homes. If good families were to be compared to a sapling, Satan and his host of evil angels are chopping at the roots of the family tree in order to topple down forests of marriages.
We know the family is in trouble. But have we stopped to consider the powerful witness of a positive, Christian family? It’s easy to see the dark side, with the broken pieces of deteriorated families all around us. But what can church families do to help struggling homes in our communities to heal and grow? How can we introduce more of our relatives, friends, and neighbors to the Savior who loves families? Is there something we have overlooked in reaching disintegrating homes for God?
Nothing is more powerful to reach floundering families and troubled people than a Christian home. When church families reach out to community families, Satan trembles—because God created families to be the influential building blocks of society. Imperfect as our homes might be, the world looks longingly for safe places for children to grow, for examples of purity and integrity, and for family units that stand against the tide of evil in our world.
The witnessing power of one single Christian family in a neighborhood is beyond estimation. We fear the evil influences of a bad family on a good family, but with proper boundaries it would be well for us to also think about the good influence a Christian home can have on those around us. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, a solid home can change a community.
Notice how Ellen White describes the powerful witness of a Christian home:
“A well-ordered Christian household is a powerful argument in favor of the reality of the Christian religion—an argument that the infidel cannot gainsay. All can see that there is an influence at work in the family that affects the children, and that the God of Abraham is with them. If the homes of professed Christians had a right religious mold, they would exert a mighty influence for good. They would indeed be the ‘light of the world’” (The Adventist Home, p. 36).
