Family Ministry

We believe the church is a “family of families.” The church is the family of God (1 Pet. 4:17; 1 Tim. 3:15). This means it's a family of believers who have been grafted into Christ and so adopted into God's family (see Jn 15; Eph. 1:4-6; 2:19; Gal. 4:1-7).  Because of this, we approach church life with a focus that everything we do has the family unit in mind. 

 

At Del Rey Church we don’t approach Family Ministry with a compartmentalized stance.  There is no Family Ministry department at Del Rey Church, nor staff pastors for such a “ministry.”  This is intentional because we believe everything we do should play a role in edifying families.  We are concerned that having formal Family Ministries with departments and staff has a way of undermining the responsibilities of men to lead their homes (and to care for homes where a godly man is absent).  At the end of the day, a vibrant “women’s ministry” happens when a husband is intentional in shepherding his wife and washing her in the word of God (see Ephesians 5).  Likewise, a healthy youth ministry happens at home with parents discipling their kids in the Bible, training them in organized catechisms and modeling a robust spirituality. 

 

Our desire is to encourage families to be all God wants them to be, since the strength of the church is dependent upon the strength of individual families (Deuteronomy 6:7; Ephesians 6:1-4).  

 

Family takes time.  Therefore, at Del Rey Church we are committed to “creating space” for families to spend time together (Ephesians 5:16).  We do not offer a host of programs that run families ragged or pass the buck of responsibility onto others.  We would much rather encourage you to spend more time around your family table enjoying one another’s company, or engaging in Christian hospitality toward your neighbors, than being bombarded with programmed structures that separate discipleship from the family and home.

 

Families are falling apart all around us.  The divorce rate is at an all time high; The birth rate has plummeted to an all time low.  Children lack discipline and self control, and are falling away from the faith at rates of up to 88 percent!  At Del Rey Church, we believe the answer is simple.  As a church we must embrace the gospel in our homes and together work to strengthen them as we carry out the great commission of our Lord to make disciples.  

 

img_6403