Youth Ministry Priority - family first

Tonight was a great night. It was a great night because I got to spend "daddy time" with my boys. Amy is gone to a conference til Saturday night, so I get to be solo dad for 1 1/2 days. Now, don't get me wrong I am already ready to have Amy back home, but I enjoy getting the opportunity to be home with the boys.

The FCA group at the high school had their annual "bash" tonight. I was really wanting to go and get to know some of the high schoolers better and meet some new students. I even thought about taking the boys with me for a short time or asking someone to watch them so I could go. But then I thought about how much that would mean I didn't get to spend time with them. They would have dealt with Amy leaving and then being sent to someone's house so daddy could go do ministry. I didn't think that was fair.

So, I decided the thing to do was put my family first. I think it is the best thing I can do for my ministry. The area students don't need me to be there at every event. The area students don't need me to hang out with them. But my boys do need me to be the best dad I can be. My boys do need me to put them first and spent time with them. In order for me to be the most effective I can be in ministry, I have to have my family life as strong as it can be.

When there is a decision between some ministry activity and your family, please put your family first.

Now, I know you have to do ministry stuff and you can't just stay home. But you don't have to be away from home more than you are home. You don't have to be at every possible event. You don't have to make your family lose out, just because you know they will "forgive you" or they understand.