{"id":4637,"date":"2019-04-19T08:49:36","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T13:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=4637"},"modified":"2019-04-02T17:09:45","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T22:09:45","slug":"expanding-your-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2019\/04\/19\/expanding-your-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Expanding Your Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Expanding Your Community<\/strong>
\nBy Irvina Parker, Girls’ Ministries Director<\/strong><\/p>\n

In March of this year, the internet turned 30 years old. We could spin a lot of tales about the pros and cons of what this invention has brought to the table, but that is not the intention of this article. One thing that we cannot argue is that it has expanded the borders for those of us who dare to enter. Our close-knit communities of yesteryear have broadened exponentially.<\/p>\n

We can now be \u201cfriends\u201d with people around the globe through numerous social media sites. If you use Facebook, you already know that you can choose the level at which your communication is shared. You can choose to keep it smaller and allow it to be seen only by your friends. To broaden the base, you can choose friends of friends. If you want your message to be seen by the world, simply choose Public, and in theory, the whole world can view your post.<\/p>\n

In thinking about our fellowship as a body of believers, we face some of the same choices. We have the opportunity for different levels of fellowship through ministries such as Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Ministries, Girls\u2019 and Boys\u2019 Ministries, Children\u2019s and Youth Ministries, or Singles and Senior Adult Ministries. Each ministry has a lot to offer its respective audience. There is much to be learned as we sit together as peers. You can choose to stay within the confines of the ministry that best defines your life\u2019s current status, but do you realize what you might miss out on if you choose just that one level of community?<\/p>\n

I was recently reminded of the ever-broadening community when we visited Chile in February to attend the 6th<\/sup> Global Assembly, where we worshipped with believers from all over the world. It really hit home, in a more personal manner, as we gathered around the table in a Chilean home that Saturday evening after the event ended. As we began getting to know each other better, the conversations were carried out in both English and Spanish, and translations were made as needed. Our backgrounds and nationalities were different, but there was a common thread that brought us all together in this home. In one way or another, we were all connected to a young couple, who will marry in June\u2013Rodrigo Rivas and Dreama Bryant. They will make Chile their home.<\/p>\n

Rodrigo is our daughter-in-law\u2019s cousin. His mom and Jessica\u2019s dad are brother and sister. We met several of this Chilean extended family at our son\u2019s wedding in 2005, and we\u2019ve been friends ever since. Rod moved to Oklahoma City to study at Southwestern Christian University, where he earned a bachelor\u2019s degree. He also earned two master\u2019s degrees in preparation to return to Chile and work with his Dad in their church and Pentecostal denomination. When his parents visit the city, they stay in our home. Likewise, when we visited Chile, we were guests in their home for several days.<\/p>\n

We not only had family connections with the group around the table, but we also share a strong God connection as well. Others around that table were Dreama\u2019s parents, Bishop Garry and LaDawn Bryant, and other mentors who had poured into this couple\u2019s lives, individually or jointly, over the last few years. Dreama\u2019s bishop, Dayton Birt (Redemption Ministries), and Rod\u2019s bishop, Stuart Sherrill (Heartland) and his wife Sheri, were also there. Rod\u2019s former pastor and mentor, Brad Davis and his wife, Whitney (our new National Women\u2019s Ministries director) were there too. Rod\u2019s parents, Jose and Katty Rivas, were incredible hosts and made us feel at home around that table. Gathered at a second table were several members of Rod\u2019s Chilean family.<\/p>\n

Despite all the different backgrounds, we felt connected by the work of the Holy Spirit. That bond grew even stronger as most of us attended the church the next morning, where Jose Rivas serves as pastor. Bishop Sherrill preached, and all of us were invited to greet the congregation and then prayed over those who came for prayer at the end of the sermon. The connections that morning as I prayed over some of the Chilean ladies was incredible. That is the beauty of a God-connection. Language barriers disappear when the Holy Spirit is present and doing His work. A week later, when we attended our second service there, one of those sisters got my husband to translate and shared what had happened that week. She started by saying that she had no idea what I had prayed over her but said she felt a connection. As I prayed, God placed the face of her boss (a leader in the national soccer association) in her mind. She began praying for him and asking God to show her what He wanted her to do. Later that week, God gave her the boldness and an unexpected opportunity to witness to him.<\/p>\n

We must take every opportunity we can get to expand our connections. When I think about Girls\u2019 Ministries in the local church, I think of all the opportunities that are presented there. Just as our group around that Chilean table, you will have girls from different backgrounds. You may even have a child whose family speaks a different language. Spending time together each week in God\u2019s Word, through your curriculum, is important. But the fellowship that you have together is important as well. The key word in building a successful Girls\u2019 Ministries is relationship<\/em>. Girls may not remember the particular lessons you taught, but you can be sure they will remember the time and effort you took as a leader, mentor, and friend.<\/p>\n

Life is hectic, but here\u2019s my challenge: Don\u2019t isolate your ministry to an hour on Wednesday night. Look for ways to expand it to involve parents, grandparents, other Godly mentors, and even girls from older clubs. Think of it in much the same way as your Facebook levels of friendship. With Mother\u2019s Day and Father\u2019s Day coming up quickly, look for ways to bring your ministries together for a time of fellowship and gleaning from each other. Be very intentional in starting conversations between your girls and those adults who can bring a different perspective to life. Bring older girls into the classroom to share\u2013whether it\u2019s doing crafts or reading a story or cooking together. The more opportunities you create between your girls and other members of the body of Christ, the stronger the bonds of fellowship will become.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[866,1031,1053,1052,1034,251,409,1045],"class_list":{"0":"post-4637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"tag-community","9":"tag-discipleship-ministries","10":"tag-expand-your-community","11":"tag-expanding-your-community","12":"tag-iphc-discipleship","13":"tag-girls-ministries","14":"tag-irvina-parker","15":"tag-strong-in-fellowship","16":"entry"},"title_es":"Expandiendo tu comunidad","content_es":"Ampliando su comunidad<\/strong> Por Irvina Parker, Directora de Ministerios de Ni\u00f1as<\/strong> En marzo de este a\u00f1o, Internet cumpli\u00f3 30 a\u00f1os. Podr\u00edamos contar muchas historias sobre las ventajas y desventajas de lo que este invento ha tra\u00eddo a la mesa, pero esa no es la intenci\u00f3n de este art\u00edculo. Una cosa que no podemos argumentar es que ha expandido las fronteras para aquellos de nosotros que nos atrevemos a entrar. Nuestras comunidades unidas de anta\u00f1o se han ampliado exponencialmente. Ahora podemos ser "amigos" con personas de todo el mundo a trav\u00e9s de numerosos sitios de redes sociales. Si utiliza Facebook, ya sabe que puede elegir el nivel en el que se comparte su comunicaci\u00f3n. Puedes elegir mantenerlo m\u00e1s peque\u00f1o y permitir que solo tus amigos lo vean. Para ampliar la base, puedes elegir amigos de amigos. Si desea que el mundo vea su mensaje, simplemente elija P\u00fablico y, en teor\u00eda, todo el mundo puede ver su publicaci\u00f3n. Al pensar en nuestra comuni\u00f3n como un cuerpo de creyentes, enfrentamos algunas de las mismas opciones. Tenemos la oportunidad de diferentes niveles de hermandad a trav\u00e9s de ministerios como los Ministerios de Hombres y Mujeres, los Ministerios de Ni\u00f1as y Ni\u00f1os, los Ministerios de Ni\u00f1os y J\u00f3venes, o los Ministerios de Solteros y Adultos Mayores. Cada ministerio tiene mucho que ofrecer a su respectiva audiencia. Hay mucho que aprender al sentarnos juntos como compa\u00f1eros. Puede elegir permanecer dentro de los l\u00edmites del ministerio que mejor define el estado actual de su vida, pero \u00bfse da cuenta de lo que podr\u00eda perderse si elige solo ese nivel de comunidad? Hace poco record\u00e9 a la comunidad cada vez m\u00e1s amplia cuando visitamos Chile en febrero para asistir a la 6\u00aa<\/sup> Asamblea Mundial, donde ador\u00e1bamos con creyentes de todo el mundo. Realmente lleg\u00f3 a casa, de una manera m\u00e1s personal, cuando nos reunimos alrededor de la mesa en una casa chilena ese s\u00e1bado por la noche despu\u00e9s de que termin\u00f3 el evento. Cuando empezamos a conocernos mejor, las conversaciones se llevaron a cabo en ingl\u00e9s y en espa\u00f1ol, y las traducciones se hicieron seg\u00fan fue necesario. Nuestros antecedentes y nacionalidades eran diferentes, pero hubo un hilo com\u00fan que nos uni\u00f3 a todos en esta casa. De una forma u otra, todos est\u00e1bamos conectados con una pareja joven, que se casar\u00e1 en junio: Rodrigo Rivas y Dreama Bryant. Har\u00e1n de Chile su hogar. Rodrigo es la prima de nuestra nuera. Su mam\u00e1 y el pap\u00e1 de Jessica son hermano y hermana. Conocimos a varios miembros de esta familia chilena en la boda de nuestro hijo en 2005, y desde entonces hemos sido amigos. Rod se mud\u00f3 a Oklahoma City para estudiar en Southwestern Christian University, donde obtuvo una licenciatura. Tambi\u00e9n obtuvo dos maestr\u00edas en preparaci\u00f3n para regresar a Chile y trabajar con su pap\u00e1 en su iglesia y denominaci\u00f3n pentecostal. Cuando sus padres visitan la ciudad, se quedan en nuestra casa. Del mismo modo, cuando visitamos Chile, fuimos invitados a su casa por varios d\u00edas. No solo tuvimos conexiones familiares con el grupo alrededor de la mesa, sino que tambi\u00e9n compartimos una conexi\u00f3n fuerte con Dios. Otros alrededor de esa mesa fueron los padres de Dreama, el Obispo Garry y LaDawn Bryant, y otros mentores que se hab\u00edan volcado en las vidas de esta pareja, individual o conjuntamente, en los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os. El obispo de Dreama, Dayton Birt (Ministerios de Redenci\u00f3n), y el obispo de Rod, Stuart Sherrill (Heartland) y su esposa Sheri, tambi\u00e9n estaban all\u00ed. El ex pastor y mentor de Rod, Brad Davis y su esposa, Whitney (nuestra nueva directora del Ministerio Nacional de la Mujer) tambi\u00e9n estuvieron all\u00ed. Los padres de Rod, Jos\u00e9 y Katty Rivas, fueron anfitriones incre\u00edbles y nos hicieron sentir como en casa alrededor de esa mesa. Reunidos en una segunda mesa, varios miembros de la familia chilena de Rod. A pesar de los diferentes or\u00edgenes, nos sentimos conectados por la obra del Esp\u00edritu Santo. Ese v\u00ednculo se hizo a\u00fan m\u00e1s fuerte cuando la mayor\u00eda de nosotros asistimos a la iglesia a la ma\u00f1ana siguiente, donde Jos\u00e9 Rivas sirve como pastor. El obispo Sherrill predic\u00f3, y todos nosotros fuimos invitados a saludar a la congregaci\u00f3n y luego oramos por aquellos que vinieron a orar al final del serm\u00f3n. Las conexiones esa ma\u00f1ana, mientras oraba por algunas de las damas chilenas, eran incre\u00edbles. Esa es la belleza de una conexi\u00f3n con Dios. Las barreras del lenguaje desaparecen cuando el Esp\u00edritu Santo est\u00e1 presente y hace su trabajo. Una semana despu\u00e9s, cuando asistimos a nuestro segundo servicio all\u00ed, una de esas hermanas consigui\u00f3 que mi esposo tradujera y compartiera lo que hab\u00eda sucedido esa semana. Comenz\u00f3 diciendo que no ten\u00eda idea de lo que hab\u00eda orado por ella, pero dijo que sent\u00eda una conexi\u00f3n. Mientras oraba, Dios coloc\u00f3 en su mente el rostro de su jefe (un l\u00edder de la asociaci\u00f3n nacional de f\u00fatbol). Ella comenz\u00f3 a orar por \u00e9l y le pidi\u00f3 a Dios que le mostrara lo que \u00c9l quer\u00eda que ella hiciera. M\u00e1s tarde esa semana, Dios le dio la audacia y una oportunidad inesperada para testificarle. Debemos aprovechar cada oportunidad que podamos para expandir nuestras conexiones. Cuando pienso en los Ministerios de Ni\u00f1as en la iglesia local, pienso en todas las oportunidades que se presentan all\u00ed. Al igual que nuestro grupo alrededor de esa mesa chilena, tendr\u00e1s chicas de diferentes or\u00edgenes. Incluso puede tener un hijo cuya familia habla un idioma diferente. Pasar tiempo juntos cada semana en la Palabra de Dios, a trav\u00e9s de su plan de estudios, es importante. Pero la comuni\u00f3n que ustedes tienen juntos tambi\u00e9n es importante. La palabra clave para construir un Ministerio de Ni\u00f1as exitoso es relaci\u00f3n<\/em> . Es posible que las ni\u00f1as no recuerden las lecciones particulares que ense\u00f1\u00f3, pero puede estar seguro de que recordar\u00e1n el tiempo y el esfuerzo que tom\u00f3 como l\u00edder, mentor y amigo. La vida es agitada, pero aqu\u00ed est\u00e1 mi desaf\u00edo: no a\u00edsle su ministerio a una hora el mi\u00e9rcoles por la noche. Busque maneras de ampliarlo para involucrar a padres, abuelos, otros mentores piadosos e incluso a ni\u00f1as de clubes m\u00e1s antiguos. Pi\u00e9nsalo de la misma manera que tus niveles de amistad en Facebook. Con el D\u00eda de la Madre y el D\u00eda del Padre pronto, busque formas de reunir sus ministerios para un tiempo de comuni\u00f3n y apoyo mutuo. Sea muy intencional al iniciar conversaciones entre sus ni\u00f1as y aquellos adultos que pueden traer una perspectiva diferente a la vida. Lleve a las ni\u00f1as mayores al aula para compartir, ya sea haciendo manualidades o leyendo una historia o cocinando juntas. Cuantas m\u00e1s oportunidades se creen entre sus ni\u00f1as y otros miembros del cuerpo de Cristo, m\u00e1s fuertes ser\u00e1n los lazos de la comuni\u00f3n.","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/Expanding-Your-Community.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-1cN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}