Local Church to Address Parenting During October
3 min read
BRADFORD – Open Arms Community Church in Bradford will be launching a 4 Week Series on Parenting, starting this Sunday.
“Today’s parents are in a struggle no other generation has had to face in raising children,” says Open Arms Pastor Mike McAvoy, who says that parents looking for advice these days have it tough, “There are so many contradicting professional opinions out there. Everyone has a theory, and everyone’s theory is different!”
The series, Extreme Makeover: Parenting Edition will offer parenting advice from a biblical perspective. McAvoy says, “A lot of people have a misunderstanding about biblical parenting, because they’ve seen the bad example of religious people using the Bible as an excuse to be abusive. This is wrong and not what the Bible teaches.”
In the seven years since it started, Open Arms has addressed topics of relationships, healthy living, social responsibility and personal devotion to God – but Extreme Makeover is the time the church has tackled parenting.
“We’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” says Open Arms Media Coordinator Josh Hatcher, “We’ve structured the information in such a way that it’s accessible for anyone – whether they have children or not.” Hatcher says that even people without kids, or whose kids are grown can help make a difference in the live of other families. “Just because you are not a parent, doesn’t mean that you can’t help support other parents. It’s up to all of us to help reinforce the role of parents in our community.”
The “We need to stop enabling our children for failure, misbehavior, and irresponsibility,” says McAvoy, “While we certainly do see some problems and shortcomings in parents, children, and society, we’re not out to bash any of them. We love people. They are important and we want to help them in any way we can.”
On October 2, the first installment is titled “The Model” and focuses on what standards should be used for parenting. On October 9th , Open Arms will discuss Healthy Parent/Child Relationships. October 16th will address the topic of Discipline, and on October 23, the church will discuss The Child’s Responsibility to the Parent.
During the Month of October, Open Arms will have Child Care for kids from birth to Fifth Grade, and will feature special programming for kids from Pre-School to Fifth Grade. Open Arms Kids will be hosting Slime Time, with fun, games, exciting bible lessons, and lots of slime.
At the end of the month, the church will also be doing a drawing for a “Family Night Out” which includes a gift certificate from Byllye Lanes, and a “Family Night In” which will include snacks and a movie rental.
Extreme Makeover: Parenting Edition will kick off at Open Arms on East Main Street during the church’s two regular Sunday services – at 9:15AM and 11:00AM. “Both Services are the same, we offer two service times so that people can come at a time that is convenient,” says McAvoy.
More information can be found at the Open Arms website – www.openarmsbradford.org.
