Introduction to a 15% Family

Happy New Year!  Welcome 2017!

We celebrated by having two families over - one we knew really well, the ones we've been hosting over the last few months, and a new family our kids met through their worldview camp in the summer.  With just the three families, we had 27 people here.....overnight!  Both families lived nearly 3 hours away, so it only made sense....no one needed to be on the road on New Year's Eve.

What a memorable night, probably one of our best yet.  There was lots of food, lots of hilarious games, kids jamming in the music room, singing in many parts of harmony, laughing, talking and having fun.  Lots and lots of little boys filled the house with activity, running around chasing each other or kittens.  Every house should have kittens just for that purpose!

What struck us was the conversation with the new family.   One of the reasons our kids had connected so well was because they also are familiar with street preaching.  The dad has taken his older boys out since they were quite young.  One of the boys did his first open air sermon when he was just 11! When our kids met him, he was one of the few willing to stand up on a box and preach.

We asked them, knowing we had had our own eye-opening experience 10 years ago, what had been their "wake up" call?  What had prompted them to make such dramatic changes in their own life that would have them take to the streets with the gospel?

They explained how they had heard the statistics about children leaving the faith in their first year of university, a whopping 85% of supposedly Christian kids and it struck them, "How can we make sure we are in the 15% who keep their faith?"  The dad realized if that many kids are leaving the faith, that means that many dads are not doing their job in discipling their children.  From that point on he determined (and this is my favourite line from the night....somewhat paraphrased), "I wanted to be a 15% Dad and I wanted my kids in the 15%, too."  At first glance, that sounds like a really funny thing to say....15%?  Why not 100%!  But, what he was saying, of course, was that he didn't want to be a part of that terrible stat that says only 15% will keep their faith.  He wanted to be part of the rare few that do, the small 15%. When he assessed his own life, his own faith, what he was doing, how he was living, he realized, perhaps he really wasn't living out the gospel as well as he could, discipling as intentionally as he could.  Where to start?!  It struck him that evangelism is what we are called to do yet he wasn't really doing it.  Did he want to?  No.  Did he have a heart for it?  Yes, sort of.  So he started there, doing something that was waaaaay out of his comfort zone and bringing his kids along for the ride where they could see their dad doing something absolutely nuts, on a regular basis!  They began to interact with many people on the streets.  These people would ask them really hard questions that they didn't always have answers for.  This, in turn, forced them to read their Bibles, get answers, seek out knowledge.  Family discipleship happened.  This dad had turned his heart to his children and as a result his children turned their hearts to him.  Their oldest son, married a few months ago, is now involved with the drug addicts and homeless in a town nearby and is a part of a church planting ministry that reaches out to these needy people.  Their next son also has a heart for missions and it will be interesting to see where he ends up.

As the night went on, and new year's came in, we all sat around as families and prayed, singing the doxology.  I went to bed, leaving all the kids on air mattresses spread throughout the house.  I was fairly certain everyone would crash shortly after me.....uh no....a movie started and the kids stayed up half the night!  I had a good sleep at least!

The next morning, after we all got the coffee I.V.s inserted, we chatted some more, played some more games, had lunch, and then everyone started to pack up.  Family one left and started their 3 hour trek home.  Family two loaded their van and came back in to, what I thought would be, say goodbye. Instead, they said, "We are going to stay 20 more minutes and clean your house."  "Uh no," I said. "That's completely unnecessary.  We can do it, no problem."  They wouldn't hear it.  They wouldn't listen. My oldest was happy to delay the goodbyes, so she turned up the loud music and, seriously, all 10 of them, as well as our 10, went at it.  They vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms, made beds, brought down laundry, swept, did all my dishes....my house never looked so good.  As they actually did pack up and drive away, I thought to myself, "From now on, I will do that whenever we go somewhere, especially overnight...."  What a blessing.  My house was quite a mess, especially with all the little boys.  I would have had a lot of cleaning ahead of me.  It would have been the last thing my kids wanted to do.  It was really great to be able to debrief once everyone was gone and not worry about all the cleaning.  Even to wake up this morning and to think, "Oh yeah!  My house is clean!  I don't have to clean all day!" Which would have been what I was doing....amazing......what a blessing!  Did I already say that?

All that to say, it was inspiring to be with them, to not just hear their heart for God, but to see it in action, from the oldest to the youngest.  That's the beauty of Christian fellowship though, spurring one another one toward love and good deeds.  What a great testimony to that verse's truths.

Today, Daddy's back at work, however, kids are still partying with the other family, driving their way now for a huge skating fest.  Must be nice to play all the time!  I guess 2017 and real life will start soon enough.  At least I don't have to clean all day!