Family

The following relates my experience volunteering in my very first 13 week session of Divorce Care 4 Kids (DC4K) back in 2011. Since that time, I have gone on to lead a number of DC4K groups at multiple locations and will lead my next group starting in mid January of next year..  I hope that you will find this telling of my experience both informative and useful.  Ultimately, I hope in some way that it will lead you to getting involved in DC4K ministering to children of divorce or ministering to hurting kids in some other capacity. One question that I get ...

How is your church doing in meeting the special needs of step families (sometimes called blended families)? Recent government statistics show that in the United States almost 9% of all kids live in a step family (this does not include children living with cohabiting, but unmarried, couples). In his article Understanding the unique needs of step families, Ron Deal explains the importance of ministering to step families. Ideas for Further Discussion About Step Families Do you have any preconceived notions about the families in your church? Have you researched the make up of families in your community? What steps have you ...

Children of divorce suffer many consequences because of the divorce of their parents (legacies of divorce). Many legacies of divorce can cause immediate problems for some children. Other legacies impact the child of divorce for years to come. While some children seem to breeze through the divorce of their parents with no lasting impact at the time the divorce occurs, many will find themselves wrestling with various consequences later on in life and throughout their adult years. Several researchers divide the legacies of divorce into two different time frames. Short-term legacy is the term used to define the consequences that ...

One of our goals at Hope 4 Hurting Kids is to find very practical ways to serve hurting kids and their families. For us, it is not enough to just speak or write generally about children who are hurting; we want to serve those children directly, and their families. We also seek to serve those who work with hurting children. One very effective means and practical way that we can serve these kids and this community is through prayer. James 5:13-16 tells us: 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone ...

Dale Hudson offers up background information on foster kids and ideas on how to minister to them in a church situation in his article How To Minister to Foster Kids in Your Church (from Relevant Kids Ministry). Ideas for Further Discussion About Foster Families How many foster kids are there in your community? Are there foster kids in your church? How do you know? Do you understand how the foster system works? What do you do for the foster kids and families in your church and community? Are there things you should you be doing that you aren't? What's worked for you ...

Scripture includes the revelation of God, and as such it guides and forms our view of all things – including divorce. Too many churches and ministries avoid this topic for fear of the backlash from their congregations. It is time that we, as the Church, stood up in love and took a position on this issue. Before we get into the scriptural passages about divorce, I want to say a couple of words of Hope 4 Hurting Kids. Our primary focus when it comes to divorce is not on the cause of the divorce or the classification of divorce but ...

There are so many hurting kids out there who need a new home. Thank God for good foster parents and adoptive parents who don't judge these kids but love them through. Check out this powerful video on the importance of really understanding hurting kids. The video can be found at http://vimeo.com/73172036. It is also available on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOeQUwdAjE0&feature=youtu.be. ReMoved Past 2 is also now available The makers of ReMoved explain the reason behind the videos: The ReMoved Films are being created with the intent to bring light to the often unknown subjects of Foster Care and Child Abuse/Neglect. The films educate those ...