KingsWay Student Ministry

Blind Spots in Home Schooling

2012-03-02T05:25:00.000-11:00

I recently read excerpts from this article by Reb Bradley at joshharris.com. Whether or not you home school your children, Reb’s biblical insight into the temptations we all face as parents is provoking. It’s a bit lengthy, but well worth your time.

Frontline 2012 Super Bowl Party!

2012-02-02T05:04:00.003-11:00

The Rogness family is hosting a party for the big game this Sunday night at 6pm. If you're a high school student or a parent of one, this event is for you! And for anyone who would rather not watch overgrown men collide repeatedly at high speeds, Rich & Anna have foosball, ping-pong, xbox and board games. Dinner is provided, so come hungry. Must I bring anything, you ask? YES, price of admission is a contribution to the food stash. Acceptable entries include chips, pretzels, veggies, smoked sausages, brownies, ice cream, root beer, cookies or mozzarella sticks. This is a great opportunity to invite friends from school who might otherwise not come to a church event. Questions? Call 804-744-0365.

Rich & Anna Rogness

2510 Chimney House Place
Midlothian VA 23112

LaserQuest!

2011-12-08T08:38:00.001-11:00

Calling all Impact Families - save the date on December 28th -- as we'll gather at LaserQuest for a time of fun and (controlled) mayhem! LaserQuest is located at 889 Research Road N Chesterfield, VA 23236 Phone: 378-0400. More details to come. (Contact Beth Webb at: wearewebb@verizon.net or 897-1256 for more information.)

Impact Service Project

2011-12-08T08:32:00.001-11:00

Impact has a wonderful opportunity this Christmas season to help the students at Elijah House Academy have a Christmas party! If you have a child in Impact, you should have received an email containing a link for an online sign-up form, which will help us coordinate the food requests. (If you did not receive the email, please contact Beth Webb at: wearewebb@verizon.net or 897-1256) or click here.) Thank you for blessing others during this season - especially our brothers and sisters in Christ at Elijah House. All donations need to be brought to Impact on Dec 14th.

Impact Cancelled Thanksgiving Week

2011-11-16T16:25:00.001-11:00

Quick update...the Impact meeting for next Wednesday is cancelled since it's the day before Thanksgiving and I imagine many of you are either traveling or have family coming in town that night. Enjoy the time off school! I'll miss being with y'all.

Spontaneous Game Night

2011-11-16T15:57:00.001-11:00

So what do you do with a smaller turnout at Frontline? Wii sports, dodgeball, volleyball and air hockey. That's what you do! We called an audible at 7:20pm tonight, which turned out to be a lot of fun. A big thank you to Rich & Colby Rogness for getting the Wii working on the big screen projector. Loved hanging out with everyone tonight!

Oh...and Converse are fast becoming the official Frontline shoe of choice.

Book Review: Going Public

2011-11-02T04:07:00.002-11:00

I’m generally a fan of homeschooling. From kindergarten through the 10th grade, my mom invested countless hours teaching reading, writing, arithmetic and everything between. But she did more than that. She taught me to love learning.

By the 10th grade, however, I reached a point where mom no longer felt capable of teaching my classes. So off I went to a local public school. My folks made the decision very carefully. I remember spending significant time discussing whether or not I was ready to courageously defend my Christian beliefs against the wiles of secularism.

I walked through the doors of Clover Hill High School convinced I had just set foot on enemy territory - at least in a spiritual sense. Priority one? Emerge two years later with my moral convictions intact and my relationship with God unscathed. Everything outside academics was all about survival.

Now you know why the title of David & Kelli Pritchard’s book, Going Public: Your Child Can Thrive in Public School, intrigued me.

Thriving in enemy territory? What are you talking about? The Pritchards write out of a conviction that parents are responsible for obeying God’s command in Deut. 4 to teach their children the fear of the Lord. Three chapters of the book detail how parents must train their kids to love God with all their heart, to obey mom and dad unconditionally, and to practicing self-control. And they’re convinced that at least for their 8 children, public school is the best place to get the job done.

“[God] longs for adults to live up to their calling, a large part of which is nurturing the next generation and preparing them to face the world with character and purpose. We strongly believe that the public school can be an early training ground - a place where our children have an opportunity to develop that character and find their purpose.” (p. 23)

To be clear, the Pritchards are not on a mission to turn every family into a public school family. They challenge parents to do the hard work of discerning what educational track will best serve an individual child. But they make no apology for hammering away at my assumption that a wise parent will not send their child to public school until they’re spiritually mature. In fact, the book is basically a long testimony of how public school is an ideal setting for children to learn, not just to prove, spiritual maturity.

The greatest strength of Going Public is the wealth of stories and practical examples of how to harness public education in pursuit of spiritual formation. Based on the written testimonies of the Pritchard children in the appendix, you can’t deny it’s been successful. Chapters on the necessity of parental involvement, how to build relationship with teachers and school officials, and using public school as a context for family evangelism are particularly good. They repeatedly emphasize how successful public education is about partnership not abdication, especially when it comes to the dad’s role.

On the whole, Going Public is a great resource for Christian parents who are considering public school for their children or already have a child in public school. My greatest critique of the book is the absence of connections between Christian behavior and gospel motivation. If you’re looking for counsel on how to teach your children how to obey in response to grace and not just because it’s “right”, you’re better off spending time with Tedd Tripp in Shepherding a Child’s Heart or his brother Paul in Age of Opportunity.

But if you’ve never carefully considered public school as a formative option in discipling your children, then pick up a copy of Going Public. At a minimum, you’ll be equipped to make a more informed decision about how to educate your children and how to serve families who’ve chosen the public school route.

Impact Discussion Questions

2011-10-27T03:53:00.001-11:00

I loved spending last night with our middle school students and parents. We studied Philippians 4:6-7 where the Apostle Paul tells us how to put off anxiety and experience the peace of God in our lives. Here are the parent-student discussion questions for those of you who couldn't attend or want to continue the conversation at home:

1. What kinds of things are easy for you to be anxious about?

2. Is there anything you're anxious about tonight?

3. Is there a lie about God hiding in your anxiety?

4. Do you quickly talk to God when you're anxious? Why or why not?

5. What do you need to ask him for?

6. What do you need to thank him for?

Article for Parents

2011-10-19T15:57:00.000-11:00

After Gene's sermon last Sunday on Phil. 2:12-13, I kept thinking about how Paul's words apply to the parenting task. It's so easy to get fuzzy on what's our responsibility and what's God's. Confusion here sets us up to swing like a pendulum between disillusioned abdication on the one end and anxious striving on the other. Thankfully, God's Word is clear on the contours of his work and ours in the task of raising the next generation.

Click here to read a short article I wrote and discussed tonight with parents of our high school students.

Impact Games

2011-10-16T13:49:00.000-11:00

Mrs. Webb did a fantastic job planning minute to win it games for the Impact meeting last Wednesday. Here's a clip of one of them. Enjoy!

Thank you Mr. Rogness!

2011-09-29T15:30:00.001-11:00

Our newest son, Micah, arrived very early Monday morning. Aliza and I are so excited. I knew I couldn't make the Impact meeting scheduled for this Wednesday night, but I didn't want to cancel. So I did what any guy in a tight spot should do - call Rich Rogness! Mr. Rogness pulled together a teaching on the fruit of the spirit (love) with 2 days notice, and from what I heard, did a kicking job. Well done man! Just another example of the central role parents play in our student ministry.

Tedd Tripp Parenting Seminar

2011-09-29T15:19:00.001-11:00

Instructing a Child's Heart is an outstanding book on how to parent wisely just prior to the onset of the teen years. Several Impact message series have been inspired by chapters Tedd has written.

All that's simply background to encouraging any parents with kids in the 10-12 year old range to attend Tedd's seminar in Richmond in a few weeks. Check this link for more info!

http://www.cctcinc.org/instructing.html

Parent's Meeting Outline

2011-09-02T03:11:00.000-11:00

Many thanks to the moms & dads who came out to our parents meeting on July 31. You made a loud statement of your desire to train up the next generation of God-followers. Iced coffee was a real treat!

In case you missed the meeting, click here for an outline of our conversation. As always, don't hesitate to email me at matthew@kingsway.cc with any questions!

2011-2012 Frontline Together Groups

2011-09-01T17:17:00.000-11:00

Hey guys! Good news for all you 9th-12th graders...Frontline Together groups for 2011-2012 are up and running! Email, call or text one of the leaders below for more information.

GUYS #1

Location: Eastern Powhatan

Leader: Bryan Holt

Contact: bryan.m.holt@gmail.com or (540) 840-8315

GUYS #2

Location: Eastern Chesterfield

Leader: Michael Roberts

Contact: siffleur@gmail.com or (804) 338-7628

GIRLS #1

Location: Easter Powhatan

Leader: Rebecca Holt

Contact: beknbry@aol.com or (540) 840-4799

GIRLS #2

Location: Eastern Chesterfield

Leader: Stephenia Deloglos

Contact: ephystephie@msn.com or (804) 310-8546

Click here for a list of FAQs about Frontline Together.