Orange Conference 2014 week has arrived! Our Getwell Road family ministry team has been in the process of organizing, planning and strategizing our upcoming Orange Experience. ReThink pulls out all of the stops to make this conference an amazing experience for all church attendees. Our goal is to recharge, vision, rethink and fill up with all that is offered in the various ministry areas, so we can bring ideas back to further our partnership with parents and families.

I asked myself, “What would our children’s lives look like if that kind of strategizing, planning and attention was given to their spiritual development?” Would it make such an impact that as they grew and matured, they would be able to withstand the pressure of culture and the world? Would it help provide them with a faith that sticks?

From birth until high school graduation we have approximately 936 weeks with our children. For the parents with an infant, this might seem like a long time. From a parent of a sixth grader, it is not so long. In fact we have only 315 weeks until our daughter graduates and heads off to college. Sounds crazy to count doesn’t it? But as Reggie Joiner says, “When you see how much time you have left, you tend to do more with the time you have now.” So whether we are at week 935 or week 1, what are we as parents going to do to make sure our kids know Jesus, know the truth of Scripture, and develop a faith so strong that they can withstand everything the world throws at them when they leave for college? We need a sticky faith strategy!

You see, statistics show that only 50 percent of our kids who graduate high school and have attended church or youth group will have a faith that sticks with them through college. That’s one half people! And the only way we are going to reverse this trend is for parents to analyze, strategize and implement a plan to help their child(ren) have the kind of faith that sticks with them. It is a fight folks that will impact the future of the next generation of your family!

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 supports this idea of sticky faith. Because if we want our children to follow Jesus and have a faith that sticks, then we must make Jesus a part of our everyday experiences. We must teach them to see Him in all aspects of life. Not only do we do this by living out our faith with our kids, but we must give them the knowledge and place people in their lives that will assist us in carrying out our sticky faith plans. Your children will seek another voice to speak into their lives when they get older. What better plan than for you as parents to have influence as to the other voice that will speak into their lives! Seek out that older youth, young adult and senior adult to pour into your child. And when your kids start to doubt and question their faith (and they will), they have built a relationship with others who have spoken truth into them, guiding them through those doubting moments or difficult times.

Getwell Road our kids need a faith that sticks. They need to know that they are part of a bigger story, God’s story. They need truth. They need to know that they are loved not only by God, but by our church family as well. They need to know that no matter what life throws at them or what mistakes they make, they are forgiven. They need this sticky faith to pass on to their kids and grandkids so that future generations will share in the love of Christ. No matter what stage your child, children or grandchildren are in, develop a plan. Let’s reverse this 50 percent trend and be the church that develops sticky faith in our kids. See you after Orange!!