Over the years, the Lord has been teaching our family to have a ministry mind-set. Ever since our children were very young, we wanted to instill within them the desire to serve the Lord with their whole hearts. We focused their Scripture memory on verses that would encourage them in this way.

One of our family’s favorite verses was “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). To us, this meant that we were to pursue activities that would advance God’s kingdom and to put aside things that would distract us from serving Him. We reminded our children to store their “treasures in heaven” and explained how they could do this by serving the Lord.

A Ministry Team

It has been our goal to minister as a family and to instill within the hearts of our children the desire to serve. We chose opportunities that could involve our entire family, so that we, as parents, were not leaving our own children in order to go and serve elsewhere. When our daughters were ages nine and seven, we served as deacons for our church. We gave each daughter a white apron, and they became “deaconettes” as they helped clean, set up chairs, and meet other needs around the church.

As we began to serve together, we found that it was important for us to train our children how to serve. At first, we gave them small responsibilities and specific instruction. Then we stepped back and watched to make sure they could handle the project. We discovered what fun it is to work alongside each other on an effective family team!

A Ministry Center

Through the Advanced Seminar, we were encouraged to make our home into a “ministry center.” We began to do this by hosting a weekly couples meeting for our church. The children enjoyed helping us clean and prepare the house. Then they waited excitedly for the couples to arrive. During the meeting, the children served snacks. They loved this opportunity, and it gave them a vision of how we could use our home to minister to others.

Over the years, one of our favorite things has been having families over to our home for an evening or a meal. This has provided our children with the opportunity to show hospitality and to learn from mature examples of our choosing. It is also a great alternative to a youth group as our children are able to fellowship in a non-peer setting. The Lord has provided many opportunities in this area, and our family’s ministry has expanded from there.

Because of ministering together, our children have had such an exciting life! We have made many memories as we have served together, and we have so much to talk about. The Lord has provided opportunities that we never would have thought of. We have enjoyed working at church, helping widows, singing at nursing homes, playing the piano at church services, serving at seminars, making meals for needy families, and more. We looked for the needs of others and for ways that our family could help meet the needs.

Children and Ministry

Each Christmas, we try to focus on reaching out to others. One year, we decided that our ministry project would be to provide Christmas gifts for the homeless at a downtown mission. We took the children to a thrift store where they were able to find winter sweaters, hats, and gloves inexpensively. They also spent time making some scarves on our knitting machine. Then the children had fun setting up an assembly line so that they could wrap each item. They filled up our station wagon with the gifts, and we delivered them to the mission. It was a huge adventure for our children. Through it, they learned about the struggles that the homeless face and how we can assist in meeting their physical and spiritual needs.

We truly enjoy serving together, and it has built a sense of teamwork into our family. Over the years, the type of ministry that we have been involved in has changed, but the goal has stayed the same—to seek first God’s kingdom. We have seen Him fulfill His promise that “all these things shall be added unto you.”

George & Claudia Vogrin

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