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Vineyard Christian Fellowship
5034 W Greenway Rd
Glendale, AZ 85306
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July 2007 |
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"The greatest way to teach about poverty is to experience poverty."
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One of the most important lessons you can teach your teen is to care for the poor and needy. The problem is that many people view the poor in a much different light than God does. Deuteronomy 15:11 says, "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." How do you teach this lesson to your teen? The greatest way to teach about poverty is to experience poverty. Most teens have seen poor people on the street or on a news program, however, most experience these scenes while in the air-conditioned car or on a comfortable sofa watching TV. Go and volunteer your time at a homeless shelter or go on the next short-term mission trip offered at your church, and TAKE your teen. Experiencing something like this with your teen will be life-changing for your whole family. Another way to teach your teen how to combat poverty on a local level is to make care packages of non-perishable food items and toiletries to give to the poor. This way you know you are meeting a need, and you know where your money is going. Teens also love to give to a specific need, name, and face. Organizations such as Compassion International (compassion.com) and World Vision (worldvision.com) allow your family to give support to a specific child. You learn a little about their family and what your money is doing to help this child with the daily necessities of life. While we are still on this earth, there will always be the poor. One of the best ways to teach your teen about the poor is to show them how to do something to help them. It teaches them to follow scripture as well as taking the focus off of themselves and putting it where it needs to be…on others. We must be proactive in creating a generation of givers.
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Greatings Parents
Is it hot out there or what? July is here, with it we celebrated America's independence and welcomed in the humidity. The summer months in Phoenix invite a lot of fun, yet with out a doubt they bring challenges. On one hand we get a chance to go swimming and on the other hand getting in our cars after it has been baking in the sun proves less than ideal. Well, don't fret winter will be here before we know it.
This month we have been talking about the Kingdom of God. Jesus preached about and demonstrated the kingdom all throughout His ministry. He healed the sick, cast out demons, and set the captives free. This was Christ’s mission to destroy the works of Satan.
Often times we don't see our Christianity in terms of a battle. We get saved and then go about our business, yet Jesus was always about His Father’s business, which was to destroy Satan. With power and authority Jesus did this very thing.
The greater purpose of discussing the Kingdom of God is to help our youth begin to take hold of the mission which Christ entrusted His Church, which was to make disciples of all nations
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Here are some thoughts on poverty throughout the world.
How much influence do you think individuals in the U.S. have on:
64% - Poverty in the U.S.
48% - The war on terrorism
37% - The HIV/AIDS epidemic in other countries
28% - Poverty in other countries
(compassion.com)
Should more public funds go to helping the homeless?
81% - Yes
19% - No
(teenink.com)
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* 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world); 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. (globalissues.org)