Family Ministries at Pittman Park is not about keeping a calendar full. It is about shaping hearts.
On Sundays and Wednesdays, it may not look dramatic. You might see glue sticks on tables. A Bible open to a story kids have heard before. A group of middle schoolers laughing a little too loudly. It can feel ordinary. But it is not ordinary. God is at work in those moments.
With Park Kids, we are doing more than teaching lessons. We are building trust. We are helping children learn that church is a place where they are safe, seen, known, and loved. We believe every child is made in the image of God. That means the shy one and the loud one. The one who memorizes every verse and the one who cannot sit still for five minutes.
When Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me,” He meant it. So when a volunteer kneels down to tie a shoe, listens to a long winding story about someone’s pet, or helps a child find a verse in Scripture for the first time, that is sacred. It may feel small. It is not small. It is kingdom work.
And then there are our Park Students. Middle and high school can be heavy. There are questions about identity. Pressure that never seems to turn off. Expectations that keep climbing. Students do not need perfect answers. They need steady adults who will show up and stay.
At Park Students, we lead the way Jesus led. We build relationships first. We remind students that they were created on purpose and for a purpose. Some nights that means a deep conversation about faith. Other nights it means laughing over a game and building trust without them even realizing it. Sometimes it simply means sitting beside a student who is carrying more than they can explain.
Colossians tells us to let our roots grow down into Christ. That is what we are praying for. Roots that go deep in childhood. Roots that hold steady in the teenage years. Roots that last long after they leave our youth room.
Church family, when you pray for our children and students, you are part of that rooting process. When you serve, even occasionally, you are helping shape a story that may unfold for the rest of someone’s life. When you call a student by name in the hallway, you remind them they matter here.
Belonging is powerful. It changes how young people see themselves. It changes how they see God.
We are not trying to run impressive programs. We are trying to help the next generation know Jesus and know who they are because of Him. That is sacred work. And I am deeply grateful we get to do it together.
Stephanie