How is it already January 20th? The last few weeks have been a crazy blessing! We give thanks to God for the sweet gift of welcoming our daughter into the world and how our family has grown! Thanks to everyone at Gardens for the amazing love and support you have provided us as a family – especially the time off and the great food. I’m especially grateful to God for the gift of being able to raise our children in this amazing church. Through you all I know our children, and all the children of Gardens, will come to know the radical and embracing love, grace, and mercy of God through Jesus. I know our kids and all the kids of Gardens will come to be disciples of Jesus because they will see Jesus in you all on Sunday mornings as you smile and greet them, sneak them cake and cookies, and attend to their growth, development, and lives. In studying the faith formation of children, I have read and have come to believe profoundly that faith is “caught” before it is “taught.” That is to say, the most important factor in our children becoming followers of Jesus is first and foremost the way they are seeing the Gospel lived out through the lives of the people of their churches and congregations. Authentic and faithful embodiment of the ways of Jesus as they are lived out by the men and women of our children’s churches will be way more important in our kids becoming followers of Jesus than any lesson they will learn in Sunday School (not that those aren’t important too)! So, thanks to you all for the ways you will raise my children in Jesus…and to all you families in the northern Palm Beaches, if you long for your children to become followers of Jesus, I promise you, they will see Jesus and come to follow Jesus because of the love and affection of the good people of Gardens Presbyterian Church.
Peace +++
Kyle