Are you a parent looking for resources to help you with your teens?  Are you a youth worker looking for resources to help you with both your teens and their parents?  Are you a church leader looking for resources to help you better integrate the family ministry into your church?  

Let me direct you to an outstanding website that has quality education, inspiration and practical tips for all of us:  www.liveit2giveit.org.  

This website was started a couple of years ago by two Youth Ministry Ministers from our family of churches: Marcus Overstreet (Editor; South Florida Church of Christ) and Shane Engle (Associate Editor; San Diego Church of Christ).   

Among the many helpful items you’ll find on their website:

• Audio of most classes from this past weekend’s International Conference of Youth and Family Ministry, “Legacy of Faith – you gotta live it 2 give it” from Chicago, Illinois. http://www.liveit2giveit.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=5&id=11&Itemid=26

• Recent recommendations on the best parenting books http://www.liveit2giveit.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=17

• A powerful testimony from Pat Parnell, a South Florida single mom http://www.liveit2giveit.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=17

• Articles on Family Devotionals from Elder and his wife, Ron and Linda Brumley of the Seattle Church of Christ http://www.liveit2giveit.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=1&id=3&Itemid=17

• Resources for Youth Workers http://www.liveit2giveit.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=1&id=2&Itemid=16

• And resources for teens too! http://www.liveit2giveit.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=1&id=1&Itemid=15

Dave and Renea Hamilton (our Middle School Leaders) and I attended this past weekend’s conference (“Legacy of Faith – you gotta live it 2 give it” in Chicago, Illinois) and came home with so many new ideas and renewed convictions that will help build our own family ministry here in Tampa!

To give you an idea of some of the topics that were discussed at the conference, here are some of the most memorable class titles:

• Keeping God First in Your Family
• Winning Families as a Family
• Parents Needing Renewed Vision When a Child Has Left the Faith
• How to Study the Bible with Teens
• Developing Family Ministry in Your Church
• Doing Ministry and Family Well
• Working Together… Youth Ministry/Teen Parent Relationships
• Blended Families
• How Do I Know When They Are Ready to Be Baptized?
• Instilling Faith in Teens
• Teaching Teens to Reach Teens… Both Inside and Outside the Church
• Baptism… Just the Beginning
• Legacy of Faith: Heart Discipling
• Legacy of Faith: Restoring Hope
• Legacy of Faith: Spiritual Formation
• Reaching Teens from the Pulpit
• Passing on a Legacy of Purity
• Working with Kids at Different Stages
• Spiritual Leadership in the Home
• Working with Special Needs Children
• Spiritual Moms, Contented, Busy and Loving It
• Instilling Confidence in Girls
• Working with Teen Girls in Crisis
• Parenting Single

We are so excited about our growing Youth and Family Ministry here in the Tampa Bay Church! Much thanks to our dedicated youth workers (Dave and Renea Hamilton, Phillip and Natalie Goodchild, Mary Plate, Deundra and Ingrid Peavey, Junior and Ana Miranda and Daryl Lyles), our awesome parents (including our communications expert, Pam Plager) , and our wonderful, crazy, fun students! Together we’re building “a legacy of faith”!