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When Pastor Fred Knoll planned a family mission trip to an orphanage, he expected a decent turnout from his White River Christian Church (Noblesville, IN).
What he got was an overwhelming response leading to the development of several trips a year and a growing interest in families to serve orphans and children back home.
The first trip White River took included the Knoll family with four children all under the age of 11. "I was on top of a building ripping off shingles with my two boys while my wife was cleaning horse stalls and doing landscaping with our daughters," Fred says. "Then we all came together every afternoon to play games and cook out with the kids from the home."
The impact on his family has been easy for Fred to see. "We see our own children getting a deeper |
understanding of the servant lifestyle," Fred adds "I’ll never forget our eight-year-old in tears praying that God would please find these children a home."
White River has connected serving to building strong family relationships. According to a recent Baylor School of Social Work study, that is exactly what families desire from their church.
Dean Diana Garland asked 3,393 church attenders what they would like to see their church help them do in regards to family life. Respondents marked up to six items in a list of 47 to indicate ways in which their church can help families. Overall, respondents most commonly reported that they would like to see their church help in the areas of:
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Serving others outside our family (26.8%); |
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Family prayer and devotional time (21.8%); |
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Communication skills (20.6%); |
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Developing healthy habits - eating, exercise, rest and recreation (19.9%); |
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Developing a strong marriage (19.6%); and |
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Talking about our faith together (18.5%) |
"We didn't expect that," Diana says. "Even families who are struggling themselves want to serve others. These families are telling us that the focus of church needs to be centered on ways families can minister to the world."
Family service projects also rank high on Fred’s community |
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involvement and discipleship strategy. "I’ve seen parents and children grow deeper in their relationship with Christ just by being obedient in service," he says. "They are exposed to needs and come back with broken hearts. As we say a lot at White River, they are ‘wrecked on the inside’ for Jesus."
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