Our Mission: We partner with families to help raise resilient, flourishing followers of Jesus.
The following are 4 Foundations that we believe need to be laid with intentionality as we pursue a Jesus-shaped life, along with the specific opportunities we offer to help families develop these firm foundations.

 

Foundational Values

Values are the principles and traditions that serve as a compass for our lives. When the options and decisions we face feel overwhelming, a clearly defined set of values can help us avoid basing decisions on our emotional state or cultural pressures. If parents establish the practice of values-based decision making early on, this will be a great skill they can pass on to their children. Here is where we talk about this and revisit it, as we address the 4 Stages of Parenting:

  1. Child Dedication (pre-ceremony meeting)
  2. Pop Up Sunday
  3. Parenting Your tween - During Grade 6 Welcome Party
  4. Preparing to Launch - During Grade 12 year (January)
Foundational Beliefs

While faith is grounded in a belief system, it is more than just acquiring head knowledge. When Jesus calls people to follow Him, he says this involves loving God with all our heart, all our mind, and all our strength, and loving our neighbour as we love ourselves. Jesus modelled this to us through his discipling relationships and we aim to follow his example. At Emmanuel we identify 3 key elements of spiritual formation: Belong, Grow, Share. Here are the ways we aim to families Belong, Grow and Share:

  1. Sunday Gatherings
  2. Monthly Memory Verse in Kingdom Kids
  3. Sunday's Lesson Engagement videos (and other resources)
  4. Jr. and Sr. Youth Large Group and Small Group (aka Squad) Gatherings
  5. Following Jesus, Study for Families (Grades 4-6)
  6. Deep End weekly discipleship meeting for Sr. Youth, Fall Retreat, YG (May)
Foundational Relationships

Studies have shown that our children are best positioned to develop a lifelong faith that sticks if they have 5 intentional, intergenerational, caring relationships outside of their immediate family. This is where both the extended family and the faith community can play a significant role. (Dr. Kara Powell, "Sticky Faith")

Consistency in gathering, learning, worshipping, and connecting with families who share your values aids in helping kids establish these relationships.

  1. Sunday Gatherings, BLAST, Jr. Youth, Sr. Youth, Retreats & Social Events, Youth Drop-In
  2. Small Groups 

Topics Available for Small Group Study:

      • Your North Star in Parenting
      • Growing Resilience
      • Habits of the Household

 

 

Foundational Practices

Knowing the teachings of Jesus and putting them into practice are key to laying a firm faith foundation for our family. Here are some ways we aim to help kids and parents put faith into practice.

  1. Teaching and Providing Tools for Spiritual Disciplines 
  2. Child Sponsor Offerings, Christmas Giving Projects and Kids' Christmas Presentation (Share )
  3. BLAST - Our lessons focus on principles and practices that kids can apply to their developing relationship skills.
  4. Sr. High Missions Trips

Living out of our values requires putting them into practice; until then, they are just ideals. Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock...But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand." (Matthew 7:24-26)