FamilyFEST: A Way Out Of Your Mission Rut
By Linda Iler
March 2008
Been in a mission rut lately? Picture this: children working right along side their parents painting the exterior of a Chinese restaurant, teens cleaning the stair well and pulling weeds at an inner city apartment building, a father talking about Jesus while face painting.
These are just a few of the mental pictures and cherished memories I have of FamilyFEST in Ohio, Nebraska and Wyoming.
FamilyFEST is a mission opportunity open to anyone first grade and older. Serving with children can definitely get you out of a mission rut!
FamilyFEST will come to Kansas City July 21-25, 2008, and you do not want to miss this opportunity. You can be involved as an individual from your church, but why not plan for your family, student- or adult team to participate?
In Ohio, one other woman and I were “sisters” for the week. While serving in Wyoming, my 82 year-old mother served with me on a team of four women.
Every generation within the Body of Christ comes to FamilyFEST to serve others in Jesus’ name, and it is wondrous what God does through each of them.
Mary Frecks had her first experience at a FamilyFEST in July 2006 in Laramie, Wyo. Mary previously had only done “adult mission trips,” notably four trips to Nicaragua with a medical missions team.
Traveling from Omaha with a “family” of three other women, Mary was apprehensive about the effectiveness of having children as part of the mission team in Laramie.
A question loomed in her mind, “Will they require so much time and energy that we will essentially be caring for ‘our own’ kids instead of serving others?” She was in for a surprise!
Mary says she had so much fun at FamilyFEST. She found out that it was great to be part of a multi-generational event. “I loved the kids, to see their youthful exuberance and joy for sharing Jesus’ love. They opened doors. Their uninhibited joy was contagious!”
One of the events at FamilyFEST in Laramie was an International Day Camp for children. Mary observed that, “Our kids were much more effective in reaching out to the other kids than we adults ever would have been.”
After her first FamilyFEST experience Mary believes other mission trips would miss a key element if the children were not there serving right alongside the adults.
“They inspired me and helped me think outside the box. In a nutshell, they bumped me out of a rut I’d been in for many years, and I’m thankful for that.
“The kids taught me Jesus works well with spontaneity, which was something I’d gotten away from in 0my structured life.”
For more information on FamilyFEST, contact Kansas City, Kan., Baptist Association at (913) 599-4455. Register online at http://www.wmu.com/VolunteerConnection/volunteer/2008_mfest.asp
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