16 Hats left in the Trading Post!

GBB and SMM form A partnership

April 12, 20008 – Rittman, Ohio

Members from the Grace Brethren Boys National Board and members from National SMM met on Saturday April 12, 2008 to discuss their respective ministries.  The purpose of the meeting was to educate each other about the ministries and to discuss the reasons they chose to be gender-specific. 

Rob Gable, Director of Boys Ministry for GBB, and Viki Rife, National Coordinator for SMM realized a need to get together.  The competition for a child’s time is getting increasingly heated.  Children are pulled in so many directions and unfortunately it feels as though the church is losing the battle for the chance to influence the children of the community, let alone the children of our own churches.  Contact with other children’s ministries as well as independent research has revealed that there is an overall reduction in the number of children, families and young adults in church.

Many things were discussed during the meeting but one topic of discussion of particular interest was the question; “Why have we chosen gender-specific ministry?”

Despite the secular world’s efforts to deny it throughout the years, there is still strong evidence that girls and boys are different.  Men and women were created to complete each other by contributing unique characteristics to the family and to society in general.  Therefore, it’s important to meet each gender in their areas of interest when they are young.  Girls, for example, want to interact and chat together, while boys like to have adventure, excitement and a degree of competition.

Plenty of studies have shown that children develop at an early age.  In fact, by age two the foundations of a child’s understanding of who God is are being laid. (provided they have someone in their life who speaks of God)  By nine their moral foundations are developed and by age thirteen they have usually decided what they are going to believe.  Cults and political ideologies know that their best way to gain followers is to target the young. 

Children need to learn to have real relationships with each other and with Christ.  The best way to learn is by having close relationships with their parents and other adults in their lives.  How foolish to let the media and our children’s immature peers dictate what they believe about relationships.  Young people today don’t know how to preserve their relationships because they’ve not seen it modeled; therefore, often even those with the best intentions end up divorced, abandoning their children or even their faith because they don’t know how to handle the day-to-day “bumps” of life.  Young children today are hungry for adult influence.  Unfortunately, parents are so busy that often the children find other places for influence (television, media, video games, internet, peers and others who display their interest in them). 

So what does gender have to do with it?  If the influences in a boy’s life are distorted he generally grows up lacking the qualities of a Godly man.  If a girl has distorted influences she will grow up lacking the qualities of a Godly woman.  It seems so clear when it’s spelled out in black and white.  The foundations we lay for our children now will determine the kind of spouses, parents and spiritual influencers of the next generation.

Back to the question at hand; “Why have we chosen gender-specific ministry?”  Logically, who has the best influence on a boy?  Godly men, preferably including his father, who will teach him and model what it is to be a man of God.  The same goes for girls.  Girls need to have Godly women who will properly teach and model those qualities that will influence the girls to become women of God.   

Simply put, men are not the best equipped to teach girls and women are not the best equipped to teach boys.  Though societal equals (so we’re told) there are distinct biblical differences between the responsibilities of men and women.  Boys and girls need to be taught these differences, at a very young age and have good models to influence them through their teenage years.

GBB and SMM, realizing the above, have committed to a partnership to continue our gender-specific ministries to the fellowship.  We’d ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers and keep your eyes open for new things coming from GBB and SMM in the future.

If you would like to hear more about GBB or SMM please contact either Rob Gable or Viki Rife at the information below:

Rob Gable

GBB National

Phone (330) 464-8185

Rgable1357@neo.rr.com

Viki Rife

National SMM

nationalsmm@kconline.com