34
HEARTBEAT : FAMILY LIFE
Supporting Families at Faith By The Family Life Team
Sharon* had a good career. Despite not having a university degree, she was able to climb the ranks to become a Vice President at a prestigious company. With prestige, power and money, she was the envy of many. Things on the home front were not so rosy, however. While she was a success in the boardroom, her family life was severely compromised. Hard as she tried, frequent travels for work meant that she could not juggle her role as a wife and a mother. Beneath that facade of achievement, she was broken and unfulfilled within. Sharon* is one of our members at Faith Methodist Church and not the only one facing these challenges. Families today are struggling, and under tremendous pressure. On top of work-related stress and hectic lifestyles, singles face relationship issues; married couples have marital
challenges such as problems with in-laws; parents struggle in parenting their children; families have to manage care for aging parents and work out their finances. And the list goes on. Christians are not immune to these realities and they often need a shoulder to lean on in tough times, or just words of encouragement to know that they are not alone. This was the impetus for the formation of the Family Life initiative at Faith—to provide a network of spiritual and practical support within the church that members can easily have access to.
Identifying The Needs Of Today’s Family
The life of our church exists through Small Groups and has, over the years, become an extension of family life. Therefore, it was not surprising that members who took part in the survey ranked Small Groups as the most effective platform for delivering family life services related to marriage, parenthood, grief, career, medical, aged parents and singlehood.
So how does Family Life contribute within this framework?
Family Life Is Inclusive
With this question in mind, a survey was conducted via Faith’s Small Groups to understand the impact of
At the Ministry Fair held in May 2018, a member who visited the Family Life booth was hesitant to volunteer and
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals
JULY 2018 . FAITHLINK
these challenges on our members, and how we can strengthen family life within the church family. Our members shared candid thoughts, and amongst the myriad findings, the top four topics that emerged and were highlighted were: Marriage, Parenthood, Medical, and Financial.
